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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
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TILOEN FOUNDATION*,
THE
NATIONAL
PORTRAIT GALLERY
DISTINGUISHED AMERICANS.
CONDUCTED BY
JAMES B. LONGACRE, PHILADELPHIA; AND JAMES HERRING, NEW YORK:
Under the Superintendence of the American Academy of the Fine Arts.
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VOLUME IV;'
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" These are deeds which should not pass away.
And names that must not wither, though the earth
Forgets her empires with a just decay,
The enslavers and the enslaved, their death and birth."
PHILADELPHIA, JAMES B. LONGACRE.
NEW YORK, JAMES HERRING.
1839.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRAE
169906
1899
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by JAMES B. LONGACRE, in the Office of the Clerk
of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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ADDRESS.
THE fourth volume of the National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans is
brought to a close, under circumstances materially different from those which pre-
ceded it. It might reasonably have been expected, that the concluding volume of
the series would have appeared much earlier after the publication of the third ; to
those, however, who are aware of the peculiar depression experienced by the pub-
lishing interest during the commercial embarrassments which have borne so heavily
on ou^country for the last two years, it cannot be matter of great surprise to learn
that the publishers of this work have shared in the general calamity, and that in
consequence two years have passed without presenting the date of either upon the
fourth volume. Without farther preface, it is sufficient to state, that the derange-
ment and uncertainty of the fiscal exchanges throughout the union, rendered the
postponement of the publication a measure not only of prudence but of necessity.^
It is satisfactory, however, to know that the value of the materials contained in
the volume now presented to the patrons of the work, is in no respect diminished
by the delay. The interest that must attach to the subjects embraced in its pages
can hardly be affected by the lapse of time ; nor has the execution of the work
suffered by the length of time allowed for its completion : the greatest disadvan-
tage is that which the proprietors and conductors of the work have experienced, by
being prevented from realizing any advantage from the subscriptions while the
publication was retarded.
As this volume must close our labors for the present, some reference to the pro-
gress and purpose of the work seems to be required by the occasion.
3 The materials, both pictoral and literary, that have been collected and arranged
in the volumes now before the public, have been obtained at a cost of labor, time,
and money, very far surpassing any calculation that could have been made at the
inception of the work. Although it was obvious that resort must be had to remote
parts of the country for the pictures and essential documents required, yet the diffi-
culty of tracing and obtaining them has, in very many instances, greatly exceeded
the anticipations of the conductors. There being in our country no central reposi-
tory for the preservation of the Portraits, or the important papers relating to the
most distinguished individuals, these materials, so essential to our national history
and honor, have frequently fallen into the hands of persons but imperfectly aware
of their value, and consequently indifferent to their preservation.
To remedy as far as possible, the disadvantages of this peculiarity in the situa-
tion of our country and habits of our people, the National Portrait Gallery was
undertaken. To a very great extent the object has been accomplished. The in-
valuable relics of those whose lives have most eminently contributed to the forma-
ADDRESS.
tion of our character, and proud distinction as a self-governed people, have in many
instances been saved from destruction or wrested from oblivion.
It cannot be expected that an equal degree of excellence should mark the pictures
in such a collection ; but whatever inferiority may attach to any of them as works
of art, their value, as the most, if not the only authentic portraits of persons whose
names are enrolled on the brightest pages of our national annals, demands their
preservation. By far the greater portion of the portraits require no apology for the
artists; the specimens here perpetuated by the graver, from the pencils of Stuart,
Copley, Trumbull, Sully, Leslie, Newton, Inman, Malbone, Ingham, Durand, &c.,
are sufficient to justify the pride of every American in the genius and power of our
artists.
Of the accompanying memoirs it may be confidently asserted, that allowing for
the limited space necessarily assigned to each, a more interesting and authentic
collection of biographical and historical facts, in relation to the men of this union
and their times, has not before been presented to the people. Every exertion has
been used to secure the most perfect accuracy, and to enlist the services of the most
accomplished and eminent writers.
Nor has any expense been spared in any department of the undertaking, which
the subject and the circumstances would justify. We have, throughout, endeavored
to produce a work which all who are swayed by the impulses of patriotism, the
honor, or the arts of our land, may regard not merely with favor, but with exulta-
tion, as a monument of national gratitude and the evidence of a just appreciation
of the brave, the honorable, and virtuous achievements which indicate to the world
the high destiny of the republic.
JAMES B. LONGACRE,
JAMES HERRING.
1839.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME IV.
Pages.
JOHN ADAMS, Second President of the United States, .... 26
Abigail Adams, Consort of John Adams, ....... 10
Samuel Adams, Governor of Massachusetts, &c. ..... 10
Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut, ...... 10
John Rutledge, Governor of South Carolina, ...... 8
Henry Laurens, President of Congress, &c. ...... 6
Thomas Sumter, Brigadier General U. S. A. . 7 . . . 10
Richard Montgomery, Major General U. S. A. ...... 6
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Major General U. S. A. . . . . 12
Thomas Pinckney, Major General U.S.A. . . . . . . 4
Oliver Ellsworth, "Chief Justice U. S. ....... 8
Thomas Mifflin, Major General U.S. A., and Governor of Pennsylvania, . 6
Thomas McKean, Governor of Pennsylvania, &c. ..... 10
Robert Morris, ........... 4
Joseph Habersham, Postmaster General, &c. ...... 4
Mordecai Gist, Brigadier General U. S. A. . . . . . . 4
George Rogers Clarke, Brigadier General U. S. A. . . . . . 12
Simon Kenton, Brigadier General, &c. ....... 8
Joshua Barney, U. S. Navy, ......... 8
Luther Martin, Attorney General of the State of Maryland, ... 8
Samuel Chase, Associate Justice U. S. . . . . . . 4
Abraham Baldwin, Senator U. S. from Georgia, ..... 6
Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York, ... 8
John Quincy Adams, Sixth President of the United States, ... 10
Louisa Catherine Adams, Consort of John Quincy Adams, ... 10
William Harris Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury, .... 12
Hugh Lawson White, Senator U. S. from Tennessee, .... 8
John Randolph, ........... 10
"William Charles Cole Claiborne, Governor of Louisiana, .... 12
John McLean, Associate Justice U.S........ 8
Edward Everett, Governor of Massachusetts, ...... 8
Thomas Say, Naturalist, .......... 10
Nathaniel Bowditch, LL.D., F.R.S. 8
Philip Syng Physick, M.D 8
John W. Francis, M.D 10
Lydia Huntley Sigourney, ......... 8
Winfield Scott, Major General U. S. A. ....... 14
Edmund Pendleton Gaines, Major General U. S. A. ..... 8
Nicholas Biddle, President of the Bank of the United States, ... 19
THENEWYORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOft, LfcMOX ANL
TILDfcN
Painted by J.Vanderlyn.
.by.E.M5 Kenzie
2L3T
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON was descended from a family of historical
celebrity in the annals of Scotland. Kings, regents, and nobles appear
in the line of his ancestors, and probably no individual ever emigrated
to the new world who could boast more numerous or more distin-
guished evidences of rank and title. James Livingston, in the middle
of the fifteenth century, was appointed regent of Scotland during the
minority of James I ; his grand-daughter married Donald, king of the
Hebrides, one of whose descendants is celebrated by the immortal pen
of Sir Walter Scott, in his poem, the Lord of the Isles.
The titles of Earl of Newburgh, Earl of Linlithgow, Earl of Cal-
lander, and Earl Livingstone, given to several distinct members of this
family, attest its standing and importance in the state, and add lustre
to the honors of its name. Nor were they undistinguished in the early
literature of their native country ; and the name of Rollock, of kindred
origin, occurs at the close of the sixteenth century as first principal of
the celebrated University of Edinburgh.
Lord Livingstone was the common ancestor of that branch of the
Livingstons, which emigrated to this country in the middle of the
seventeenth century. He was hereditary governor of Linlithgow
castle, in which Mary Queen of Scots was born, and in which she
was placed for safety during the invasion of Scotland by the Duke of
Somerset. His daughter was one of the four ladies who attended this
princess to France as her companion. His great grandson, John
Livingston, an eminent, learned, and pious minister of the Gospel,
emigrated to Rotterdam in 1663, the victim of religious persecution,
and was one of the commissioners of Scotland in the negotiations
which eventuated in a general peace, and in the transfer of the colony
of New York from the states of Holland to England.
Robert Livingston, his son, about the period of his father's death, in
1678, emigrated to America; and in 1686, obtained a patent for the
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manor of Livingston. The banks of the noble Hudson, on which it is
situate, attest in its ornaments their taste and opulence. He was a
member of the convention at Albany in 1689, which threw off, on the
part of New York, the oppressive government of James II. In a visit
to England, he held a conference with King William, Lord Chancellor
Somers, and others, and prompted the enterprise against the pirates
who then infested various parts of the American coast. The agent
employed to effect this purpose proved treacherous to the trust, and,
as is supposed, with the connivance of Robert Fletcher, the governor
of the state. This agent afterwards became chief among the pirates,
and is known in the popular traditions of the country by the name of
Captain Kidd. The grandsons of Robert were, Philip Livingston,
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, on the part of
the state of New York ; William Livingston, governor of New Jersey,
known as a poet of high order, and still more estimable for his vigorous
defence of the civil and religious rights of the colonies in council and
by the pen. Robert Livingston's great-grandsons were, John H.
Livingston, the father of the Reformed Dutch Church in America, and
president of Queen's college, New Jersey ; Brockholst Livingston, late
one of the justices of the Supreme court of the United States ; Edward
Livingston, formerly secretary of the department of state ; and ROBERT
R. LIVINGSTON, the subject of our present memoir. The talents of
this highly gifted family have had an ample field for their display and
exertion. The colonial history of the state of New York records their
elevated standing in its political affairs, and their noble resistance to
those measures of oppression which arrived at their height during the
early reign of George III, and which resulted in the independent
sovereignty of America.
Chancellor LIVINGSTON was born in the city of New York, in 1747,
and was educated in King's, now Columbia college, where he was
graduated in 1764. He entered upon the study of the law in 1765,
under the direction of William Smith, the historian of New York, at
that time an eminent counsellor of law, and subsequently chief justice
of Canada. Shortly after having obtained his license in that pro-
fession, he was appointed recorder of his native city. The trying
question of the rights of the British parliament, in which we were
unrepresented, to impose exactions on our citizens, then first began to
be agitated ; and the subject of our memoir, as well as his illustrious
father, were both ejected from their official stations, the latter as one
of the justices of the court of Oyer and Terminer, for adherence to the
rights of their countrymen.
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.
In return for royal persecution, Chancellor LIVINGSTON was reward-
ed by popular favor and the confidence of his country. In the immor-
tal congress of 1776, Mr. LIVINGSTON represented the feelings and
interests of the people of the state of New York. In this consecrated
assembly, his zeal and patriotism were universally acknowledged.
When, at the recommendation of congress, each state proceeded to
frame a constitution of government, Mr. LIVINGSTON was elected a
member of the convention of New York, and was the chairman of the
committee who presented the draught of that instrument, which was
subsequently adopted.
On the formation of the department of foreign affairs, in 1781, under
the articles of confederation, he accepted the appointment of secretary,
and served in that capacity with great diligence, promptness, and
impartiality, until 1783, when, on retiring from office, he received the
thanks of congress, and an assurance of the high sense they entertained
of the ability, zeal, and fidelity with which he had discharged the
important trusts reposed in him. The diplomatic correspondence
of the revolutionary war, which has been published by Mr. Sparks,
may be here referred to as documentary testimony to his cabinet
services in our great contest.
Mr. LIVINGSTON was appointed chancellor of the state of New
York in 1783, beino; the first who held that office under the state
' O
constitution ; and he continued in this highest legal station in the state
until his mission to France, in 1801. No published documents record
the evidences of his laborious research and accurate discrimination.
But we assert, on the testimony of a most distinguished successor to
his office (Chancellor Jones), that the august tribunal, whose justice
he dispensed, though since covered with a halo of glory, never boasted
a more prompt, more able, or more faithful officer.
When at length the valor of our ancestors had borne them success-
o
fully through the revolutionary contest, and redeemed those pledges
which had been offered on the altar of their country, another and a still
more arduous task remained. In vain had our patriots moistened the
soil with their blood, had our countrymen been left the victims to their
own tormenting feuds and passions. The bond of union which united
us during the period that tried men's souls, was almost rent asunder
during the trials of peace. The legislature of Virginia, so early as in
1785, at the instance of Mr. Madison, who then first gave presages of
his future greatness, had appointed commissioners, with a view to form
commercial regulations for the general control of the states. Com-
missioners from several states met accordingly at Annapolis, the fol-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
lowing year. From the want of adequate powers, they separated
without effecting the object for which they were delegated. In 1787,
on the recommendation of the Massachusetts delegation, composed of
Francis Dana and Rufus King, was convened, at Philadelphia, that
memorable assemblage of heroes and statesmen, who met to devise a
plan of government which should convey the blessings of liberty to
the latest generations. Of the plan of that national compact which
now binds these states, Hamilton and Madison were the principal
authors.
Of the convention which assembled at Poughkeepsie in 1788,
Chancellor LIVINGSTON was one of the most efficient members, and
prevailed in effecting its ratification by his native state ; thus securing
its adoption by the United States. We are now in the full enjoyment
of its blessings. May no vaulting ambition on the part of our states-
men, or madness on the part of our people, ever put it in jeopardy for
a moment. May it never be rendered oppressive by too liberal a con-
struction of its powers : may it never be nullified by metaphysical
refinement.
In April, 1789, the city of New York was the scene of one of the
most solemn ceremonies recorded in the annals of America. The
great Washington having conducted, to a successful issue, the mo-
mentous contest for independence, and the sages of our nation having
elaborated a constitutional code of government, all eyes were directed
to the illustrious hero, whose wise and sagacious counsels, no less than
his valor, pointed him out as the most competent, under Providence,
to guide the vessel of state in safety. When that venerated patriot
was about to enter upon the duties of the highest office known to
freemen, Chancellor LIVINGSTON became the witness of his solemn
appeal to heaven, that the laws should be faithfully administered.
The appointment of Chancellor LIVINGSTON to the court of France,
was one of the first acts of the new administration of Jefferson. Na-
poleon Bonaparte, the youthful conqueror of Italy, was at this time
first consul of the French republic. At his court, which excelled in
magnificence and splendor the most august courts of Europe, the
chancellor at once conciliated the good feelings of that extraordinary
man by the amenity of his manners, and promoted the best interests
of his country by persevering and enlightened exertions. During the
short-lived peace of Amiens, Paris was visited by the refined and intel-
ligent from every part of the civilized world ; and here the chancellor
found leisure, amidst the duties of official station, to cultivate those
ornate studies, for which that capital furnishes every facility. On the
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.
day of a great levee, which assembled at the Tuilleries, says the
biographer of Fox, the numerous representatives of nations and
strangers from every country, to pay their respects to the first consul
of France, now established as the sole head of the government, the
American ambassador, Mr. LIVINGSTON, plain and simple in manners
and dress, represented his republic with propriety and dignity.
In that important negotiation with the government of France, which
resulted in the acquisition of Louisiana, Chancellor LIVINGSTON was
the prominent and efficient agen. Its transfer by the Spanish govern-
ment to France, in 1802, had excited the most lively feelings of the
American republic. By this unexpected measure, they were made
the neighbors to a power, which, under the giant energies of the first
consul, threatened, in case of rupture, the very existence of our repub-
lic. Immediately preceding the entrance into it of the French author-
ities, the Spanish powers prohibited the inhabitants of the western
country the use of New Orleans as a place of deposite for their pro-
ductions, contrary to the treaty with his Catholic Majesty. A uni-
versal spirit of indignation animated the American people ; and there
were not wanting those who recommended an immediate recourse to
arms. The discussions on this question in the congress of the United
States elicited debates, in which De Witt Clinton and Gouverneur
Morris, representatives of the state of New York in the American
senate, sustained the different views of the rival parties of this country.
In pursuance of the sound counsels of those who urged the propriety
of negotiation and peace, the executive of the United States deputed,
as minister to the court of France, the late President Monroe ; but
previous to his arrival, Mr. LIVINGSTON, in an elaborate and interesting
memoir, addressed to the French government, had prepared them for
the cession of the greater part of Louisiana.
The result of Chancellor LIVINGSTON'S efforts was prompt and suc-
cessful. On the 5th April, the first consul announced to his bureau
of state his determination to sell whatever of American territory he
had obtained from Spain. Seven days afterwards, Mr. Monroe arrived
in Paris, and gave the consent of the American government to this
negotiation. The menacing posture of affairs between France and
England facilitated the objects of these arrangements, and resulted in
the transfer of the entire country to the American republic, for a sum
less than was adequate for the preparation of a single campaign.
By this important treaty, contrary to the anticipations of the timid
or interested, the confederacy of our states was placed on an invulner-
able basis ; territory was added to our country, nearly equal in extent
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
to that of the original states of our union ; and the blessings of free
government secured to millions, who had otherwise groaned under the
vassalage of foreign dominion. The vast deserts of Louisiana are
daily becoming the cheerful residence of an intelligent and Christian
population, with American blood flowing in their veins, and beating
responsive to republican feelings ; and the field of New Orleans is now
added to those of Bunker Hill, Stillwater, and Chippeway, as trophies
of American valor and patriotism.
After the signing of this eventful treaty, the three ministers arose,
says one of them (the Count Marbois), when Mr. LIVINGSTON, express-
ing the general satisfaction, said, with prophetic sagacity, " We have
lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives. The treaty
which we have just signed has not been obtained by art, or dictated by
force ; equally advantageous to the two contracting parties, it will
change vast solitudes into flourishing districts. From this day, the
United States take their place among the powers of the first rank ; the
English lose all exclusive influence in the affairs of America. Thus
one of the principal causes of European rivalries and animosities is
about to cease. The United States will reestablish the maritime
rights of all the world, which are now usurped by a single nation.
These treaties will thus be a guarantee of peace and concord among
commercial states. The instruments which we have just signed, will
cause no tears to be shed ; they prepare ages of happiness for innu-
merable generations of human creatures. The Mississippi and Mis-
souri will see them succeed one another, and multiply, truly worthy
of the regard of Providence, in the bosom of equality, under just laws,
freed from the errors of superstition and the scourges of bad govern-
ment."
The consequences of this act did not escape the penetration of the
first consul. " This accession of territory," said he, " strengthens
for ever the power of the United States, and I have just given to Eng-
land a maritime rival, that will sooner or later humble her pride."
The official duties of resident minister at Paris did not prevent
Chancellor LIVINGSTON from bestowing his attention to those objects
of taste congenial to his feelings, and beneficial to his country. To
the American Academy of Fine Arts, established in New York, in
1801, he added the excellent collection of busts and statues which are
now the boast of that institution, and was instrumental in procuring,
from the liberality of the first consul, its rich paintings and prints.
He continued through life devoted to its interests, and was for many
years its chief officer. To the Transactions of the Society for the
ROBERT R, LIVINGSTON.
/
Promotion of Useful Arts, established in 1793, chiefly through his
exertions, he contributed many appropriate papers, and, during his
residence abroad, enriched our agriculture with the improvements of
French husbandry.
The last effort of his pen was his paper on Agriculture, written but
a few days before his fatal illness. In this spirited essay, he vindicates
the climate, soil, and capabilities of his native country. He shows
the value of horticultural labor, and demonstrates the reciprocal con-
nections between agriculture and manufactures. The inherent fertility
and the indigenous resource of the country, are the themes of his admi-
ration and eulogy. He was among the earliest, with Judge Peters, to
employ gypsum as the means of fertilizing soils ; and the introduction
of clover, and a better breed of domestic cattle, attest his vigilant and
enlightened zeal.
One other benefit conferred on mankind, will, of itself, convey the
name of Chancellor LIVINGSTON to the remotest posterity ; his coope-
ration with Robert Fulton, in effecting the successful application of
steam navigation, the most important improvement since the invention
of printing.
" The connection between Livingston and Fulton," says the late
lamented Clinton, " realized, to a great degree, the vision of the poet.
All former experiments had failed, and the genius of Fulton, aided and
fostered by the public spirit and discernment of LIVINGSTON, created
one of the greatest accommodations for the benefit of mankind. These
illustrious men will be considered, through all time, as the benefactors
of the world."*
The leisure hours of Chancellor LIVINGSTON were devoted to every
variety of science, arts, and literature. The heroic authors of antiquity,
Homer and Virgil, Demosthenes and Cicero, were among those which
contributed to improve his taste and expand his thought and feeling.
His historical researches were various and extensive. All this was
not effected without unremitting industry. Every interval of time
afforded from the duties and cares of public life, was devoted, with
scrupulous fidelity, to add to his stores of knowledge. Like the
Chancellor D'Aguesseau, in variety of pursuit he found that relaxation
which others seek in pleasure and amusement.
The style of his oratory was chaste and classical, and of that per-
suasive kind which the father of poetry ascribes to Nestor. All who
were witnesses, testify to the mute attention with which he riveted his
* Clinton's Discourse before the American Academy of Fine Arts.
7
NATIONAL PORTRAITS
auditors. But he chiefly delighted in the pathetic, and often, by his
appeals to the sympathies of his hearers, counteracted the most pow-
erful prejudices. His acknowledged integrity and patriotism doubtless
added force to all he uttered. Franklin termed him the American
Cicero : in him were united all those qualities which, according to
that illustrious Roman, are necessary in the perfect orator.
After a life, every portion of which was devoted to the benefit of his
fellow-man, he paid the last debt to nature, at his seat, at Clermont,
on the 26th of February, 1813.
Thus it appears, from this imperfect tribute, that the late Chancellor
LIVINGSTON was an active agent in the most momentous events that
have influenced the destinies of mankind. Of the congress of 1776,
which resolved that these states were free and independent, he was a
distinguished member, and belonged to that committee which framed
the declaration of our grievances and rights, — and which will transmit
their names to the latest posterity ; of the convention of New York
which formed the constitution of that state — the best devised scheme
of polity then known to the world ; of a subsequent convention, which
ratified the constitution of the United States, devised by the wisdom
of Hamilton and Madison ; the important actor in a negotiation,
which doubled our country in extent, and rendered it for ever secure
from foreign intrusion ; the coadjutor in that noblest of all improve-
ments in mechanics, by which time and space are annihilated — the
invention of steam navigation.
In Mr. LIVINGSTON, to the proud character of integrity, honor, and
disinterestedness, were added the mild, yet ennobling features of reli-
gion. An inquiring believer in its truth, an exemplar of its gentle
effects on the character, he daily sought its consolations, and strength-
ened his pious resolutions in the rich inheritance it promises. He was
devoted to the Protestant Episcopal Church, from an enlightened pre-
ference of its doctrines and discipline, without hostile feelings to those
who trust to other guides in religion than Chillingworth and Hooker.
Chancellor LIVINGSTON, at the time of his death, was in the 66th
year of his age. His person was tall and commanding, and of patri-
cian dignity. Gentle and courteous in his manners, pure and upright
m his morals. His benefactions to the poor were numerous and unos-
tentatious. In his life, without reproach ; victorious in death over its
terrors. J. W. F.
w YORK]
PUBLICiiBRARY
A8TOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNOATfONa.
JOHN RUTLEDGE.
"!N the friendly competitions of the states for the comparative
merits of their respective statesmen and orators," says Dr. Ramsay,
(to whose sketches we are indebted for this memoir,) " while Massa-
chusetts boasts of her John Adams — Connecticut of her Ellsworth —
New- York of her Jay — Pennsylvania of her Wilson — Delaware ot
her Bayard — Virginia of her Henry — South Carolina rests her claims
on the talents and eloquence of JOHN RUTLEDGE."
This eminent patriot of the Revolution was the son of Dr. John
Rutledge, who, with his brother Andrew, both natives of Ireland,
settled in Carolina about the year 1735. Dr. Rutledge married Miss
Hext, who became the mother of the subject of the present memoir
in 1739 in the 15th year of her age. This lady became a widow
at an early period, and adds another example to the number, already
noticed in this work, of illustrous matrons, who, by devotion to their
maternal duties, have been honored and rewarded in the virtues and
eminence of their offspring.
The early education of JOHN RUTLEDGE was conducted by David
Rhind, an excellent classical scholar, and one of the most successful
of the early instructors of youth in Carolina. After he had made con-
siderable progress in the Latin and Greek classics, he entered on the
study of law with James Parsons, and was afterwards entered a stu-
dent in the Temple, and proceeding barrister, came out to Charleston
and commenced the practice of law in 176 1 . One of the first causes
in which he engaged was an action for breach of a promise of mar-
riage. The .subject was interesting, and gave an excellent oppor-
tunity for displaying his talents. It was improved, and his eloquence
astonished all who heard him.
Instead of rising by degrees to the head of his profession, he burst
forth at once the able lawyer and accomplished orator. Business
flowed in upon him. He was employed in the most difficult causes,
and retained with the largest fees that were usually given. The
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client in whose service he engaged, was supposed to be in a fair way
of gaining his cause. He was but a short time in practice, when
that cloud began to lower, which, in the course of ten or twelve years,
burst forth in a revolutionary storm. In the year 1764 Governor
Boone refused to administer to Christopher Gadsden the oaths which
the law required every person returned as a member in the com-
mons house of assembly to take before he entered on his legislative
functions. This kindled the indignation of the house, as beins: an
o * o
interference with their constitutional privileges as the sole judges of
the qualifications of their own members. In rousing the assembly
and the people to resist all interferences of the royal governors in
deciding who should, or who should not be members of the commons
house of assembly, JOHN RUTLEDGE kindled a spark which has
never since been extinguished.
This controversy was scarcely ended when the memorable Stamp
Act was passed. The British Colonies were then detached from each
other, and had never acted in concert. A proposition was made by
the assembly of Massachusetts to the different provincial assemblies
for appointing committees from each to meet in congress as a rally-
ing point of union. To this novel project many objections were
made ; some doubted its legality, others its expedience, and most its
efficiency. To remove objections, to conciliate opposition, and to
gain the hearty concurrence of the assembly and the people, was no
easy matter. In accomplishing these objects, the abilities of JOHN
RUTLEDGE were successfully exerted. Objections vanished — preju-
dices gave way before his eloquence. The public mind was illumi-
nated, and a more correct mode of thinking took place. A vote for
appointing deputies to a Continental congress was carried in South
Carolina at an early day, and before it had been agreed to by the
neighboring states. Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch, and
JOHN RUTLEDGE, were appointed. The last was the youngest, and
had very lately began to tread the threshold of manhood. When
the first congress met in New-York in 1765, the members of the dis-
tant provinces were surprised at the eloquence of the young member
from Carolina. In the means of education that province was far
behind those to the northward. Of it little more was known or be-
lieved than that it produced rice and indigo, and contained a large
proportion of slaves and a handful of free men, and that most of the
latter were strangers to vigorous health, all self-indulgent, and none
accustomed to active exertions either of mind or body. From such
a province nothing great was expected. A respectable committee of
JOHN RUTLEDGE.
its assembly, and the distinguished abilities of one of them who was
among the youngest members of the congress, produced at this first
general meeting of the Colonies more favorable ideas of South Caro-
lina than had hitherto prevailed.
After the repeal of the Stamp Act, JOHN RUTLEDGE was for some
years no further engaged in politics than as a lawyer and a member
of the provincial legislature. In both capacities he was admired as
a public speaker. His ideas were clear and strong — his utterance
rapid but distinct — his voice, action, and energetic manner of speak-
ing, forcibly impressed his sentiments on the minds and hearts of all
who heard him. At reply he was quick — instantly comprehended
the force of an objection — and saw at once the best mode of weaken-
ing or repelling it. He successfully used both argument and wit
for invalidating the observations of his adversary: by the former
he destroyed or weakened their force ; by the latter he placed them
in so ludicrous a point of light that it often convinced, and scarcely
ever failed of conciliating and pleasing his hearers. Many were the
triumphs of his eloquence at the bar and in the legislature ; and in
the former case probably more than strict impartial justice would
sanction; for judges and juries, counsel and audience, hung on his
accents.
In or after the year 1774 a new and more extensive field was opened
before him. When news of the Boston port-bill reached Charles-
ton, a general meeting of the inhabitants was called by expresses
sent over the state. After the proceedings of the British parliament
were stated to this convention of the province, sundry propositions
were offered for consideration. To the appointment of delegates for
a general congress no objection was made. But this was followed
by propositions for instructing them how far they might go in pledg-
ing the province to support the Bostonians. Such a discordance of
opinions was discovered as filled the minds of the friends of liberty
with apprehensions that the meeting would prove abortive. In this
crisis JOHN RUTLEDGE, in a most eloquent speech, advocated a motion
which he brought forward to give no instructions whatever; but to
invest the men of their choice with full authority to concur in any
measure they thought best; and to pledge the people of South Caro-
lina to abide by whatever they would agree to. He demonstrated
that any thing less than plenary discretion to this extent would be un-
equal to the crisis. To those who, after stating the dangers of such
extensive powers, begged to be informed what must be done in case
the delegates made a bad use of their unlimited authority to pledge
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the state to any extent, a laconic answer was returned : " Hang them."
An impression was made on the multitude. Their minds were sub-
dued by the decision of the proposed measure, and the energy with
which it was supported. On that day and by this vote the Revolu-
tion was virtually accomplished. By it the people of Carolina deter-
mined to be free, deliberately invested five men of their choice as their
representatives with full powers to act for them and to take charge of
their political interests. Royal government received a mortal wound,
and the representative system was planted in its stead. The former
lingered for a few months and then expired. The latter instantly
took root, and has ever since continued to grow and flourish. An
election immediately followed. The mover of this spirited resolution,
his brother Edward Rutledge, Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch,
and Henry Middleton, were elected. Furnished with such ample
powers, they took their seats in congress under great advantages, and
by their conduct justified the confidence reposed in them. JOHN
RUTLEDGE was continued by successive elections a member of con-
gress till the year 1776. He returned to Charleston in the beginning
of that year, and was elected president and commander-in-chief of
Carolina, in conformity to a constitution established by the people, on
the 26th of March 1776. His duties henceforward were executive.
He employed himself diligently in arranging the new government,
and particularly in preparing for the defence of the state against an
expected invasion by the British. Their attack on Sullivan's Island
has been already related.* On this occasion JOHN RUTLEDGE ren-
dered his country important service. General Lee, who commanded
the Continental troops, pronounced Sullivan's Island to be a " slaugh-
ter pen," and either gave orders or was disposed to give orders for its
evacuation. The zeal of the state, and the energy of its chief magis-
trate, prevented this measure. Carolina had raised troops before con-
gress had declared independence. These remained subject to the
authority of the state, and were at this early period not immediately
under the command of the officers of congress. To prevent the evacua-
tion of the fort on Sullivan's Island, JOHN RUTLEDGE, shortly before
the commencement of the action on the 28th of June, 1776, wrote the
following laconic note to General Moultrie, who commanded on the
island. " General Lee wishes you to evacuate the fort. You will
not without an order from me. I would sooner cut off my hand than
write one. J- RUTLEDGE."
* In the biography of General Moultrie, in the first volume of this work.
'
JOHN RUTLEDGE.
The consequences which would probably have followed from the
evacuation of the fort, may in some measure be conjectured from the
events of 1780 ; when the British, grown wiser, passed the same fort
without engaging it.
JOHN RUTLEDGE continued in the office of president till March
1778, when he resigned. The occasion and reasons of his resigna-
tion are matters of general history. This did not diminish his popu-
larity. Of this the legislature gave the strongest proof; for the next
election he was reinstated in the executive authority of the state,
but under a new constitution, and with the name of Governor sub-
stituted in the place of President. He had scarcely entered on the
duties of this office, when the country was invaded by the British
General Prcvost. Governor RUTLEDGE made great exertions to
repel this invasion — to defend Charleston in the years 1779, 1780
—to procure the aid of congress and of the adjacent states — to drive
back the tide of British conquest — to recover the state, and to revive
its suspended legislative and judicial powers. On the close of his
executive duties in 1782, he was elected and served as a member of
congress till L783. In this period he was called upon to perform an
extraordinary duty. The surrender of Lord Corn wall is in October,
1781, seemed to paralyze the exertions of the states. Thinking the
war and all danger to be over, they no longer acted with suitable
vigor. Congress, fearing that this languor would encourage Great
Britain to re-commence the war, sent deputations of their members
to rouse the states to a sense of their danger and duty. On the 22d
of May, 1782, JOHN RUTLEDGE and George Clymer were sent in
this character, and instructed " to make such representation to the
several states southward of Philadelphia as were best adapted to their
respective circumstances and the present situation of public affairs,
and as might induce them to carry the requisitions of congress into
effect with the greatest dispatch." They were permitted to make a
personal address to the Virginia assembly. In the execution of this
duty, JOHN RUTLEDGE drew such a picture of the United States, and
of the danger to which they were exposed by the backwardness of
the particular states to comply with the requisitions of congress, as
produced a very happy effect. The addresser acquitted himself with
so much ability that the Virginians, who, not without reason, are
proud of their statesmen and orators, began to doubt whether their
Patrick Henry or the Carolina RUTLEDGE was the most accomplished
public speaker. Soon after the termination of Mr. RUTLEDGE'S con-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
gressional duties, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary from the
United States to Holland, but declined serving.
In the year 1784 he was elected a judge of the court of Chancery
in South Carolina. The events of the late war had greatly increased
the necessity for such a court. JOHN RUTLEDGE draughted the bill for
organizing it on a new plan, and in it introduced several provisions,
which have been very highly commended as improvements on the
English court of the same name. Mr. RUTLEDGE'S public duties
hitherto had been either legislative or executive. They were hence-
forward judicial. If comparisons were proper, it might be added that
he was most at home in the latter. His knowledge of the law was
profound ; but the talent which pre-eminently fitted him for dispens-
ing justice was a comprehensive mind, which could at once take into
view all the bearings and relations of a complicated case. When the
facts were all fairly before him, he promptly knew what justice re-
quired. The pleadings of lawyers gratified their clients, but rarely
cast any light on the subject which had not already presented itself
to his own view. Their declamations and addresses to the passions
were lost on him. Truth and justice were the pole-stars by which
his decisions were regulated. He speedily resolved the most intri-
cate cases, pursued general principles through their various modifi-
cations till they led to the fountain of justice. His decrees were so
luminous, and the grounds of them so clearly expressed, that the de-
feated party was generally satisfied.
In the year 1787 he was called upon to assist in framing a national
constitution in lieu of the advisory system of the confederation. In
arranging the provisions of that bond of union, and in persuading
his countrymen to accept it, he was eminently useful. As soon as it
was in operation, he was designated by President Washington as an
associate justice of the Supreme court of the United States. Jn
this office he served till 1791, when he was elected chief justice of
South Carolina. He was afterwards appointed chief justice of the
United States. Thus for more than thirty years, with few and short
intervals, he served his country in one or other of the departments
of government ; and in all with fidelity and ability. This illustrious
man closed his variegated career in the year 1800.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLICLIBRARY
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LUTHER MARTIN.
LUTHER MARTIN, a lawyer, distinguished alike for his eccentric
habits, his powerful genius, and his vast legal acquirements, was
born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the year 1744. His ancestors
were natives of England. Two of their descendants, who were bro-
thers, removed from New England, and established their residence in
that section of the country adjoining the river Rariton, upon the east
of New Brunswick, calling the township in which they had located
Piscataqua, from the name of the town whence they emigrated.
They were by occupation farmers, and having obtained large grants
of land in New Jersey, removed their domestic establishment there
when a greater part of the Colonial domain was a dense wilderness.
LUTHER was the third of nine children, and his time was generally
divided, during his early boyhood, between the duties of his father's
family and the acquisition of knowledge. In 1757, in the month of
August, he was sent to a grammar school, where he learned the ru-
diments of the Latin language; and in September, five years after, he
was graduated at Nassau Hall, Princeton, in a class of thirty-five,
with the highest collegiate honors. At that institution he laid the
foundation of his subsequent greatness, and with his other classical
exercises pursued the study of the French and Hebrew languages.
Among his friends and associates in Princeton were J. Habersham,
Esq., the Right Rev. Bishop Clagget of Maryland, the celebrated
Pierpoint Edwards, and Oliver Ellsworth. His parents, however,
were indigent, and they were enabled, consequently, to bestow upon
this son a liberal education only ; " a patrimony," he remarks, " for
which my heart beats toward them a more grateful remembrance
than had they bestowed upon me the gold of Peru or the gems
of Golconda."* As an equivalent for the additional labor which
* Modern Ingratitude, in five numbers, by Luther Martin, Esq. of Maryland, p. 134.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
his two elder brothers had undergone for the support of his father's
family while he was receiving the benefits of a liberal education, he
conveyed to them, as soon as the laws permitted his disposition of the
estate, a small tract of land which had been granted him by his
grandfather for his own support.
Upon his graduation from college, having fixed upon the legal
profession as his choice, against which, however, his family enter-
tained the strongest prejudices, upon the second day after his com-
mencement, and when he was scarcely nineteen years of age, deter-
mining to be no longer a burden to his family, he departed, in com-
pany with two or three friends, on horseback, and with but a few
dollars in his pocket, for Cecil county, near Octorara Creek in the
state of Maryland, in order to be employed as an assistant in a school,
which he had learned was just deprived of a teacher, and which was
under the management of the Rev. Mr. Hunt, to whom he carried
letters of recommendation. Before his arrival the place was occupied.
He was received with great hospitality by this gentleman however,
who, conjointly with his other friends, advised him to proceed im-
mediately to Queenstown, Queen Ann's county, where a vacancy had
just occurred in the common school of that place. Carrying to that
county letters of introduction to the board of trustees, among whom
was Edward Tighlman, (father of the distinguished Edward Tighl-
man, Esq. of Philadelphia,) as well as to many of the most distin-
guished gentlemen in the neighborhood, he was engaged, after the
ordinary examination, to take charge of the school.
His object in entering upon this employment was, to acquire a sup-
port while pursuing the study of the law. Here he remained in the
capacity of a preceptor until April, 1770. During this period he
made many valuable acquaintances, among whom was Solomon
Wright, Esq., the father of the Hon. Mr. Wright, late senator of the
United States, who gave him the advantage of his library, and re-
ceived him in all respects as a member of his family. For several
years he had little relaxation from the most vigorous industry. His
means were scanty, as the meagre profits of his school were his sole
support. His improvident habits of expenditure brought him eventu-
ally into debt; and upon his expressing his determination to relin-
quish the business of an instructor, and to devote one year exclusively
to the study of the law, he was arrested upon five different warrants
of attachment. In fact, a want of economy in his pecuniary affairs
was prominent through life, and frequently brought upon him the
most unpleasant consequences. On this subject he somewhat quaintly
LUTHER MARTIN.
remarks respecting himself—" I am not even yet, I was not then, nor
have I ever been, an economist of any thing but time."*
! In 1771, through the kind agency of George Wythe, the former
chancellor of the state of Virginia, and the Hon. John Randolph, he
was admitted to the bar, continued his legal studies until 1772, and
then proceeded to Williamsburgh, where the general court was in
session, and remained in that place until it terminated. Here he
formed many valuable acquaintances, among whom may be men-
tioned Patrick Henry, the great orator of the Revolution.
He soon after commenced the practice of the law in Accomack
and Northampton, in Virginia, and was admitted as an attorney in
the courts of Somerset and Worcester, which held their sessions
four times a year. He made his residence in Somerset, where he
soon acquired a full and lucrative practice, amounting, as he informs
us, to about one thousand pounds per annum ; which, however, was
after a period diminished by the disturbances growing out of the
American Revolution. At this time he was occasionally employed
in causes of Admiralty jurisdiction, involving interests of great mag-
nitude, and also in some important appeals to the Congress of the
United States. A Criminal court had just been established at Wil-
liamsburgh, and Mr. MARTIN was employed as counsel for thirty
prisoners, twenty-nine of whom were acquitted. His talents were at
this time fully appreciated, and he was regarded as one of the most
able lawyers at the bar at which he practised.
In 1774, while attending the courts in Virginia, he was appointed
one of a committee for the county to oppose the claims of Great Bri-
tain, and also a member of the Convention which was called at An-
napolis to resist the usurpations of the British crown. He threw
the whole strength of his manly vigor, courage, and iron firmness
into the cause of American freedom, and opposed these claims with
extraordinary boldness at a period, to use his own words. " through-
out which not only myself, but many others, did not lie down one
night on their beds without the hazard of waking on board a British
armed ship or in the other world." When the Howes were on the
way to Chesapeak Bay, they published a manifesto, or proclamation,
addressed to the people of that part of the United States, against
which they were directing their military operations. This procla-
mation was answered in an address to the Howes by LUTHER MAR-
Modern Ingratitude, p. 138.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
TIN. He also, about the same time, published an address, directed
" to the inhabitants of the Peninsula between the Delaware river
and the Chesapeak to the southward of the British lines," which was
distributed among them in printed hand-bills.
Upon the llth of February, 1778, he was appointed, through the
advice of Judge Chace, Attorney General of the state of Maryland ; in
which office his remarkable firmness, professional knowledge, and
uncompromising energy, were most strikingly exhibited in prosecuting
the Tories and the confiscation of their goods. No other man, in fact,
could be found at that time of sufficient hardihood and firmness to
fill this office. LUTHER MARTIN was called upon at this crisis, and
he met it with a manliness of decision and a determined power, which
left no room for fear ; coming down upon this class of men with an
iron hand, and bringing to bear upon them all the powers of the go-
vernment in order to effect their total defeat and overthrow. In per-
forming the duties of his office in other respects, he exhibited the
same vigorous and unquailing determination. On one occasion, for his
promptitude in prosecuting a man of great respect, ability, and influ-
ence, who was indicted for the murder of an Irishman, he was voted,
by the friends of the murdered man, a massive service of silver plate,
which, from official considerations, he refused to accept.
He continued in the office of Attorney-General during a long period,
constantly augmenting his reputation as an advocate and jurist. The
office was conferred on him originally without his solicitation, and
his commission found him at Accomack, ^ivina: directions to work-
/ o o
men who were ensfajred in the manufacture of salt.
O O
As a demonstration of his powers of mind, as well as his great legal
acquirements, it may be remarked, that he stood among the brightest
and strongest at a bar, which numbered among its members a bril-
liant constellation, composed of such men as Harper, Winder, Chase,
Wirt, and Pinkney.
In 1783 he was married to a Miss Cresap of Old Town in the
state of Maryland, who was the grand-daughter of Col. Cresap, against
whom the charge was brought by Mr. Jefferson of having murdered
the Indian family of Logan. This charge originated a long contro-
versy between the latter gentleman and Mr. MARTIN, which were
carried on through divers inflammatory pamphlets.
During the whole course of his practice at the bar he was a vio-
lent politician, and wrote for the press several pungent essays against
what was then denominated the Democratic party.
In 1804 he was engaged, conjointly with Mr. Harper, in the de-
LUTHER MARTIN.
fence of Judge Chase, then one of the justices of the Superior Court
of the United States, who was impeached in the house of Represen-
tatives, upon eight articles, for malfeasance in office. After a power-
ful argument in his behalf, Judge Chase was acquitted ; a constitu-
tional majority not having been found against him upon a single
article.
Aaron Burr, that able though ill-fated man, was at this period the
personal and political friend of Mr. MARTIN. He had just broken
away from his brilliant career, and public opinion had branded him
as a traitor. In 1807, his trial for treason " in preparing the means
of a military expedition against Mexico, a territory of the king of
Spain, with whom the United States were at peace," occurred in the
Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Virginia. Messrs.
Wickham, Wirt, Randolph, and MARTIN, were engaged upon this
cause, which involved interests of vast importance, and principles of
constitutional law of great magnitude. Mr. MARTIN appeared in
defence of his friend, who, as every body knows, was acquitted.
During the whole course of the trial Mr. MARTIN demonstrated
himself to be the steadfast friend of Aaron Burr, and entered into a
recognisance for his appearance, from day to day, before the bar of
court.
In 1814 Mr. MARTIN was appointed chief judge of the Court of
Oyer and Terminer for the city and county of Baltimore, and ful-
filled its duties with considerable rigor, though with great success,
until a new state law made it necessary for him to relinquish his
seat upon the bench. In 1818 he was again qualified as attorney-
general of the state and district attorney for the city of Baltimore;
but his declining health prevented him from attending in person to
his official duties.
From that period to the time of his death, his mind and body were
gradually impaired by disease, and a paralytic stroke, with which he
was soon after attacked, almost destroyed his physical and intellec-
tual powers. Suffering in his old age under the goadings of penury,
he removed to the city of New- York, to take advantage of the hos-
pitality of his old friend and client, Aaron Burr, who faithfully paid
him the last rites of kindness, in the imbecillity of his age, in return
for the valuable services which MARTIN had rendered him, both in
money and talent, when he was in the full vigor and glory of man-
hood.
LUTHER MARTIN died at New- York, from the mere decay of na-
ture, on the evening of the 10th of July, 1826, aged 82 years.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
The information of his death having reached Baltimore, the bench
and the bar immediately convened in the court house of that city ;
and on motion of the Honorable John Purviance, it was "Resolved,
that we hear with great sensibility of the death of our venerable
brother, the former attorney-general of Maryland, and the patri-
arch of the profession, LUTHER MARTIN ; and that, as a testimony
of just regard for his memory, and great respect for his exalted talents
and profound learning, we will wear mourning for the space of
thirty days."
As a lawyer, Mr. MARTIN was learned, clear, solid, and second to
no man among his competitors. In fact he shone far above his con-
temporaries in the accuracy of his knowledge and the clearness of
his forensic arguments. He had drawn his legal attainments, like
Pinkney, from the great fountains of jurisprudence ; and was content
to exhibit them only in the light of that reason, which, Sir Edward
Coke declares, " is the life of the law." Of his general powers at the
bar, his unbroken success and his exalted reputation abroad, are plain
demonstrations. His mind was so completely stored with the prin-
ciples of legal science, and his professional accuracy was so generally
acknowledged, that his mere opinion was considered law, and is
now deemed sound authority before any American tribunal. His
cast of mind was less brilliant than solid. He ordinarily commenced
his efforts at the bar with a long, desultory, tedious exordium. He
seemed to labor amid the vast mass of general matters at the com-
mencement of his speeches, sometimes continuing for an hour in a
confused essay, and then suddenly springing off upon his track with
a strong, cogent, and well-compacted argument. His address at the
bar was not good, nor was his voice agreeable ; consequently the
value of his forensic efforts is based more upon the fortiter in re,
than the suaviter in modo ; more upon matter than manner. The
sensitiveness of his feelings frequently led him to acrimonious ex-
pressions against his antagonists. He was accustomed, from the
fashion of the age, to use a considerable quantity of the stimulus of
ardent spirit ; and we have been credibly informed that he has de-
livered some of his most powerful and splendid arguments under its
strongest excitement.
He was a man of warm heart and generous feelings, and to prove
this, numerous examples of his benevolence might be cited ; but in
the discharge of his official duties he was rigorous and unyielding.
Before closing this article, we must add that Mr. MARTIN was op-
posed to the adoption of the present constitution of the United States.
LUTHER MARTIN.
As a member of the Convention by which that instrument was framed,
he combatted it in its earliest stages ; and when it was committed to
the states for their approval, he addressed a long argument to the
legislature of Maryland, which was intended to dissuade the people
of that state from adopting it. This argument concluded with the
following words — " Whether, Sir, in the variety of appointments,
and in the scramble for them, I might not have as good a prospect
to advantage myself as many others, it is not for me to say ; but
this, Sir. I can say with truth, that so far was I from being influ-
enced in my conduct by interest, or the consideration of office, that
I would cheerfully resign the appointment I now hold ; I would
bind myself never to accept another, either under the general go-
vernment or that of my own state : I would do more, Sir, so des-
tructive do I consider the present system to the happiness of my
country. I would cheerfully sacrifice that share of property with
which heaven has blessed a life of industry. I would reduce my-
self to indigence and poverty ; and those who are dearer to me than
my own existence, I would entrust to the care and protection of that
providence who hath so kindly protected myself, if on those terms
only I could procure my country to reject those chains which are
forged for it."* Mr. MARTIN'S violent opposition to the proposed
frame of government was unsuccessful, but it most probably caused
a more deliberate examination and approval than might have been
deemed necessary had it not been so powerfully assailed.
Mr. MARTIN'S personal appearance, as well as his mind, were alike
extraordinary. He often appeared walking in the street with his
leo-al documents close to his eyes for perusal — wholly abstracted
from the world and absorbed in his profession. He was little above
the ordinary size of men, but strong and muscular, although not very
broad in form. He usually wore a brown or blue dress, with ruffles
around the wrists after the ancient fashion, and his hair tied behind
hanging below the collar of his coat.
LUTHER MARTIN was undoubtedly one of the ablest lawyers which
our country has produced, and his name will descend to posterity
among the brightest of those, who have gained their reputation strictly
at the bar and in connection with causes which can never be detached
from our national annals ; but there are others of the same profession,
with natural and acquired talents certainly not superior to his, whose
* Secret Proceedings and Debates of ihe Federal Convention, pages 93, 94.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
fame will probably occupy a broader space, merely from the fact, that
the stage on which they play their part is more conspicuous than
that on which he acted his.
THENEWYORR
PUBOCLIBSAB?
-DEN FOUNDATION*,
Engrav? i ,
THOMAS MIFFLIN.
THOMAS MIFFLIN was born in the city of Philadelphia, in the year
1744. His ancestors were of the society of Friends, and among the
earliest settlers of Pennsylvania, and of the most respectable class.
He was a graduate in the college of Philadelphia, and was distin-
guished for scholarship and genius. He ever afterwards retained a
fondness for classical literature, and was well acquainted with the
best writers. He was intended by his parents for a merchant, and,
after leaving college, was placed in one of the first counting houses
in the city. He subsequently made a voyage to Europe, and on his
return entered into business with one of his brothers. His gay and
generous temper, his extraordinary powers of conversation, with his
frank and popular manners, made him, at a very early age, a decided
favorite with his fellow-citizens. The city of Philadelphia was at
that time represented in the state legislature by two burgesses, annu-
ally elected by the people. As the difficulties with the mother country
were becoming serious and threatening, it was particularly important
to advance to places of high public trust, men whose patriotic prin-
ciples could be relied upon ; and whose knowledge, talents, and force
of character qualified them to serve the country faithfully and effi-
ciently in the impending danger. THOMAS MIFFLIN was elected in
1772, although but twenty-eight years of age, as one of the burgesses
to represent the city in the general assembly of the state. Two years
afterwards he was appointed one of the delegates from the state to
the first congress.
The occasion now occurred to call forth, and exhibit to advantage,
his peculiar talents. No man of our country has excelled him in the fire,
energy, and effect of his addresses to an assembly of the people. There
was an earnest, — a fascinating animation in his manner, which touched
every heart ; a perspicuity in his ideas which every man could under-
stand ; and a propriety, strength, and point in his language, which, alto-
gether, was irresistible upon his audience. He knew exactly how and
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
where to strike the public feeling. The news of the battle of Lexing-
ton presented a noble and interesting opportunity for the display of his
powers of eloquence. Many addresses were delivered, such as the
solemnity of the subject and patriotism of the orators dictated ; but
MIFFLIN, although the youngest of the speakers, took the bold and
decisive ground of a steady adherence to the resolutions which were
then offered and adopted. In a memoir of his life read to the His-
torical Society of Pennsylvania, the conclusion of his address is thus
quoted — " Let us not be bold in declarations and afterwards cold in
action. Let not the patriotic feeling of to-day be forgotten to-morrow;
nor have it said of Philadelphia, that she passed noble resolutions,
slept upon them, and afterwards neglected them." This was high
language -for that day, although the men of the present time, when
our country has become powerful and proud, can scarcely believe it.
But MIFFLIN did not preach a doctrine which he would not himself
follow ; he did not begin and end his fit of patriotism with brave words
and brilliant speeches, in which there might have been as much of
vanity as love of country. He did -not go home to sleep upon and
forget the resolutions he so warmly recommended to others. He fol-
lowed them by corresponding actions, and entered at once into the
military service. Companies and regiments for the assertion and
defence of American liberties and rights were spontaneously formed,
and MIFFLIN was appointed the major of one of the regiments. To
wait until danger came upon him did not suit his ardent spirit ; he
determined to seek it, and accordingly joined the camp then formed
at Boston. He very soon distinguished himself there by opposing a
detachment of the British army sent to collect cattle from the neigh-
borhood. An officer of high rank, who was a witness of this pro-
ceeding, declared that he "never saw a greater display of personal
bravery than was exhibited on this occasion in the cool and intrepid
conduct of Colonel MIFFLIN." A short time after the withdrawal of the
British troops from Boston, Colonel MIFFLIN received from congress
the commission of brigadier-general; having previously performed,
in a most satisfactory manner, the arduous duties of quarter-master-
general. The high opinion which congress entertained of the talents,
judgment, and zeal in the great cause, of General MIFFLIN, was
manifested by a resolution of 25th of May, 1776, appointing a com-
mittee to confer with General Washington, General Gates, and Ge-
neral MIFFLIN, "touching the frontiers towards Canada." To be
associated with such men in such a service, at the age of thirty-two^
was a most gratifying honor.
THOMAS MIFFLIN.
In the fall of 1776 American affairs bore a most desponding aspect,
and American liberty was drooping, almost to despair. The people,
even many who set out bravely on the onset, were becoming weary,
discontented, and disheartened with a contest in which they no longer
saw any hope of success. The army was melting away, and the
shattered remnant which stood to their arms and flag had ceased to
look for victory in the battle field, and were satisfied to find refuge
from a conquering enemy in secure positions. In this gloomy state
of the country, her leading and undaunted patriots determined to
make an attempt to revive the spirit of the preceding year by per-
sonal appeals to the patriotism and honorable feelings of the people.
The peculiar eloquence of General MIFFLIN was exactly what, was
wanted for this purpose, and he was directed to go into the counties
of Pennsylvania, "to exhort and rouse the militia to come forth in
defence of their country." His selection for this service is mentioned
by Marshall in his Life of Washington ; who says, that "the exertions
of General MIFFLIN, who had been commissioned to raise the militia
of Pennsylvania, though they made but little impression on the
state at large, were attended with some degree of success in Phila-
delphia. A large proportion of the inhabitants of that city had as-
sociated for the defence of their country ; and on this occasion fifteen
hundred of them marched to Trenton." General Washington had
given up his design of marching to Princeton on receiving intelli-
gence that Lord Cornwallis was rapidly advancing from Brunswick,
and had passed the Delaware ; the British then occupying Trenton.
General MIFFLIN was again despatched to Philadelphia to take
charge of the numerous stores in that place. " The utmost exertions,"
says Marshall, " were made by the civil authority to raise the militia."
General MIFFLIN was directed to "repair immediately to the neigh-
boring counties, and endeavor, by all the means in his power, to rouse
and bring in the militia to the defence of Philadelphia." Congress
also declared that they deemed it of great importance to the general
safety that " General MIFFLIN should make a progress through several
of the counties of the state of Pennsylvania, to rouse the freemen
thereof to the immediate defence of the city and country ;" and they
resolved " that the assembly be requested to appoint a committee of
their body to make the tour with him, and assist in this good and
necessary work." General MIFFLIN cheerfully accepted this good
and necessary mission, and executed it with his usual ability and
zeal. He assembled the people at convenient places, and poured
forth his exciting eloquence in meeting-houses, churches, and court-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
houses ; from pulpits sacred to the offices of religion, and the judg-
ment seats of the law. The battle of Princeton, in January, 1777, im-
mediately followed these exertions ; and the victories of Trenton and
Princeton may be considered as having assured and sealed American
independence. General MIFPLIN was present at Princeton, and
makes a conspicuous figure in Col. Trumbull's painting of that me-
morable conflict. In the following February congress raised General
MIFFLIN to the rank of Major- General.
Although the health of General MIFFLIN was considerably im-
paired by his constant and various labors in the military service of
his country, he continued in it to the end of the war; and he enjoyed,
with his co-laborers in the great work, the unspeakable happiness of
seeing the independence and liberties of his country firmly and for ever
established. He had maintained and augmented the attachment of
his fellow-citizens to him, and in 1783 was appointed, by the legis-
lature of Pennsylvania, a member of congress. By that illustrious
oocly of true American patriots, he was, in the fall of the same year,
elevated to the seat of their president. In this capacity he received
from General Washington the resignation of his commission of Com-
mander-in-chief of the American army. It was his duty to reply to
the address of Washington on this august occasion, which, in all
its interesting circumstances, has no parallel in the history of human
affairs. Both addresses were such as would be expected from the
respective officers.
In 1785 General MIFFLIN was chosen a member of the legislature
of Pennsylvania, and elected the speaker of that body. In 1788 he
became president of the supreme executive council of the state, under
the constitution of that day. In 1787 the great convention assembled
at Philadelphia to frame a government for the United States, (then
sinking into anarchy and ruin because they had no government,)
which should "form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure do-
mestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and
our posterity." A more dignified and solemn trust was never committed
to human agency. The destinies of a great empire, of innumerable
millions of men, were placed in their hands ; and never was a trust
more faithfully, more wisely, more successfully performed. In this
illustrious assembly General MIFFLIN was one of the representatives
of Pennsylvania. We cannot withstand the temptation to note the
names of his colleagues in this delegation, that it may be seen to what
sort of men the people of that day entrusted their high concerns.
THOMAS MIFFLIN.
The Pennsylvania delegation consisted of— Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitz-
simmons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson^ Gonverneur Morris !
Soon after the adoption of the constitution of the United States, a
convention was called by the people of Pennsylvania to reform their
plan of government. Of this convention General MIFFLIN was a
member, and the president. He had, as he had shown when speaker
of the house of assembly, an unusual fitness for presiding over such
assemblies. He was prompt and decisive, and exercised his authority
with dignity and impartiality. When the constitution, formed and
adopted by this convention, went into operation, General MIFFLIN
was elected the first governor, in whose hands the whole executive
power of the state was placed, and he continued to hold the office, by
reflections, for the whole constitutional term, to wit, nine years.
It will be remembered that it was during Governor MIFFLIN'S
administration of the state government, that the insolent conduct of
the ministers of revolutionary France disturbed the quiet of our
country, by endeavoring to organize a regular opposition to the federal
administration, then in the hands of President Washington. The
feelings of our people were highly excited in favor of what they
thought was republican France. The French ministers presuming
upon this feeling, and ignorant of the superior and steady attachment of
our citizens to their own country and government, assumed to exercise
sovereign powers within the territories of the United States. The
governor of Pennsylvania, in common with a great majority of our
citizens, entertained a strong predilection for the French people and
their cause. But this did not lead him to forget or neglect the duties
which, as the governor of Pennsylvania, he owed to the government
of the Union. When the president found it necessary to call upon
him for his aid in executing the laws, and maintaining the authority
of the United States, the requisition was promptly complied with.
In 1794, in the midst of the excitement about French affairs, and
not without some connexion with it, an insurrection broke out in
some of the western counties of Pennsylvania, immediately inflamed by
the imposition of certain internal taxes, particularly that on whiskey.
The government of the United States, whose laws were thus defied
and opposed by force, was obliged to take the field to quell the in-
surgents. On the call of the president, Governor MIFFLIN marched
at the head of the quota of militia demanded of Pennsylvania ; and
putting aside all the pride of rank and etiquette, served under Ge-
neral Lee, the governor of Virginia, who had been inferior to Governor
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
MIFFLIN in rank in the army of the war of revolution ; and although
the service to be performed was in Governor MIFFLIN'S own state.
Speaking of this insurrection, Marshall says — "By his personal
exertions the governor of Pennsylvania compensated for the defects
in the militia laws of that state. From some inadvertence, as was
said, on the part of the brigade inspectors, the militia could not be
drafted ; and, consequently, the quota of Pennsylvania could be com-
plied with only by volunteers. The governor, who was endowed
with a high degree of popular eloquence, made a circuit through the
lower counties of the state, and publicly addressed the militia at dif-
ferent places, where he had caused them to be assembled, on the crisis
in the affairs of their country. So successful were these animating
exhortations, that Pennsylvania was not behind her sister states in
furnishing the quota required from her."
Governor MIFFLIN took his leave of the legislature on the 7th of
December, 1799 ; and having been elected a member of the house of
representatives, he took his seat in that assembly. His health was
now exceedingly impaired; he had frequent attacks of the gout,
which generally struck at his stomach. After a short confinement,
he died on the 20th of January 1800, at Lancaster, at that time the
seat of government. Resolutions were passed by the legislature ex-
pressive of the high sense entertained of his public services as a sol-
dier and a statesman ; his interment was provided for at the public
expense, and a monument erected to his memory.
Governor MIFFLIN, from his early youth to the hour of his death,
was in the service of his country, and always in a prominent position.
He maintained the confidence and favor of his fellow-citizens from
the first to the last, without a moment's interruption or abatement;
they, indeed, went on increasing. In his personal appearance he was
uncommonly handsome ; rather below the ordinary height ; but his
form was in such good proportion, and so firmly set, that he was
admirably calculated for any exertion of activity or endurance of
fatigue. There was an extraordinary brilliancy in his eye ; an ani-
mation and point in his conversation, which fastened upon all who
listened to him. He was an ardent and sincere friend, and nobody
sooner forgot an injury. His purse was too freely open to every call
upon it, and his habits of expense too improvident for his own in-
terest and comfort. A contemporary officer of the revolution, by no
means a personal friend, says that he was a man of " education, of
ready apprehension and brilliancy, and possessed fortitude equal to
any demands that might be made upon it."
2 g
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2 2
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Tlngrgyed byEMackenzie, from the Painting iy. CW. Peak intiePhiladc :
RICHARD MONTGOMERY.
THE subject of the present memoir was bom in the north of Ireland
in 1736 ; possessed of excellent talents, his parents were careful to
mature them by a superior education. He embraced the profession of
arms at an early age, and entering the army of Great Britain, com-
menced his military career in America. The regiment to which he
belonged made part of the army which, in 1757, was assembled at
Halifax, and intended for the reduction of Louisburg, a fortress of
great strength, which was believed to be the key to the French pos-
sessions in America. In the attack on that place, which commenced
on the 8th of June 1758, MONTGOMERY, who served in the dite of
the army, under the immediate command of General Wolfe, gave the
first decisive evidence of those high military qualities which marked
his subsequent conduct. After the capture of Louisburg he marched
with his regiment, under the orders of General Amherst, to the relief
of Abercrombie, who had been defeated at Ticonderoga. He re-
mained at that point on lake Champlain until 1760, when the con-
quest of Canada was completed
Large detachments of the British forces in America were then sent
to operate against the French and Spanish West India Islands. In
the two campaigns which were employed on that laborious and
perilous service, MONTGOMERY had a full share of toil and danger,
and his conduct was rewarded by promotion to the command of a
company.
Soon after the peace in 1763, his regiment returned to New- York,
and he obtained leave of absence and revisited Europe, where he re-
mained until 1772, when, having been twice circumvented in the pur-
chase of a majority, he sold his commission, and in January of the
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
following year he arrived in New- York. On his arrival he purchased
an estate on the Hudson, about one hundred miles from the city,
and married a daughter of Robert R. Livingston. Adopting, in their
fullest extent, the American feelings for liberty and hatred of op-
pression, he freely expressed his readiness to draw his sword on the
side of the Colonies ; and on the commencement of the revolutionary
struggle, the command of the Continental forces was intrusted to him
in conjunction with General Schuyler, in the fall of 1775. In Octo-
ber, the indisposition of the latter preventing him from taking the
field, the chief command devolved upon General MONTGOMERY.
Leaving his peaceful retirement on the banks of the Hudson, where
he had acquired that station and authority among his fellow-citizens
which superior acquirements and inflexible integrity never fail to
secure, he felt himself called upon, like another Regulus, to bid fare-
well to those domestic endearments with which he was eminently
blessed, and to rush at once upon his short career, which, however
sudden its termination, was crowded with scenes of virtuous activity
sufficient to have dignified the longest life.
The Canada expedition of this year was one of those measures,
which the enemies of America having first rendered necessary, soon
strove to construe into an act of hostility and offence. It was evident
that preparations were in readiness to invade our frontiers by armed
bands of savages, supported by disciplined troops. General MONT-
GOMERY was therefore despatched to avert the stroke if possible, but
if that should prove impracticable, his instructions authorized him to
storm the intermediate posts and to attack Quebec. His movements
were characterised no less by their efficiency than their humanity.
He soon reduced Fort Chamblee. captured St. John's, and by the 12th
of November Montreal also surrendered. On the 1st of December
he joined Colonel Arnold at Point-aux-Trembles, and proceeded to
the siege of Gluebec; but as his artillery was not of sufficient cali-
bre to make the requisite impression, he determined upon attempting
the capture of the place by storm. The several divisions were ac-
cordingly put in motion in the midst of a heavy snow storm, which
concealed them from the enemy. MONTGOMERY advanced at the head
of the New- York troops along the banks of the St. Lawrence, and
assisted, with his own hands, in pulling up the pickets which ob-
structed his approach to the second barrier, which he was resolved
to force. At this juncture the only gun that was fired from the bat-
tery of the enemy killed him and his two aid-de-camps. The three
fell at the same time, and rolled upon the ice formed upon the river.
RICHARD MONTGOMERY.
The enemy had been struck with consternation, and all but one or
two had fled. The death of the general saved Quebec.
When he fell, he was in a narrow passage ; and when his body
was. found the next morning among the slain, it was brought into the
city and buried by a few soldiers without any marks of distinction.
General MONTGOMERY'S military talents are admitted on all hands
to have been great; his measures were taken with judgment and
executed with vigor. With undisciplined and raw troops, illy sup-
plied with arms and ammunition, yet he inspired his men with his
own enthusiasm; he led them in the coldest season of the year to an
inclement country, shared with them, in all their hardships, and to the
hour of his death was the conqueror of our foes. His industry could
not be wearied, nor his vigilance imposed upon. Above the pride of
opinion, when a measure was adopted by the majority contrary to
his judgment he gave it his full support. He was in every respect ad-
mirably calculated to fulfil his arduous enterprise; the command and
conduct of the army formed but a small part of his difficult under-
taking. The Indians were to be treated with, restrained, and kept
in good humor. The French Canadians were likewise to be soothed,
protected, and supported; his own army required to be formed, disci-
plined, animated, accustomed to marches, encampments, dangers and
fatigues ; and frequently the want of necessary supplies demanded in
the first officer the courage of a soldier united to the benevolence of
a man. When the men labored under fatigue and wanted bread,
had their beds to make in snow or in morasses, they disdained com-
plaint when they saw their commander share in every particular
but little better than themselves. On one occasion he says in a
letter : —
"Our camp is so swampy I feel exceedingly for the troops; and
provisions so scarce, it will require not only dispatch, but good for-
tune, to keep us from distress. Should things go well, I tremble for
the fate of the poor Canadians who have ventured so much. What
shall I do with them should I be obliged to evacuate this country?
I have assured them that the United Colonies will as soon give up
Massachusetts to resentment as them."
Instead of making a merit of the difficulties of his campaign, he
sought, in his letters and despatches, to conceal them, ascribing the
faults of his "young troops" to their "want of experience," to their
hard duty, the constant succession of bad weather, &c., still en-
couraging them to nobler efforts in future ; and if any impatience of
discipline appeared, he attributed it to " that spirit of freedom which
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
men, accustomed to think for themselves, will bring even into camps
with them."
His perseverance and good conduct in gaining possession of St.
John's and Montreal were the theme of every tongue; his abilities in
negotiation ; the precision with which the various articles of treaties
and capitulations were expressed; the generous applause he gave,
not only to every worthy effort of his own officers, but to the com-
manding officer and garrison of St. John's ; his noble declaration to
the inhabitants of Montreal, that " the Continental armies despise every
act of oppression and violence, being come for the express purpose
of giving liberty and security ;" all these did honor to himself and
to congress, under whose authority he acted.
In a memoir of General MONTGOMERY it would be unjust wholly
to omit a tribute to his aids, who fell with him in Canada. They
were Captains Macpherson and Cheesman. The first, having finished
his education at Princeton, studied law with John Dickinson ; ani-
mated by his example and precepts, he had become eminent in his
profession at a period when many are deemed " under age." The
love of liberty being his ruling passion, he thought it his duty to
offer himself to the service of his country, and he had soon an op-
portunity of attaining the military rank of which he was laudably
ambitious. He soon became the bosom friend of General MONT-
GOMERY, was entrusted with a share of his most important negotia-
tions, and stood by his side in the attack upon Quebec ; in death
they were not a moment divided.
Captain Cheesman, of the New- York forces, fell at the same time,
covered with honor, and lamented by all who knew him as an active
and gallant officer. Captain Hendricks also deserves mention; he
commanded one of the Pennsylvania rifle companies, and was a gal-
lant soldier. The command of the guard belonged to him on
the morning of the attack; but he solicited and obtained leave to
take a more conspicuous post, and having led his men through the
barrier where his commanding officer, General Arnold, was wounded,
he long sustained the fire of the garrison with unshaken firmness,
till, at last, receiving a shot in his breast, he immediately expired.
The sorrow of the American people for the loss of MONTGOMERY
was heightened by the esteem which his amiable character had
gained him. The whole country mourned his death ; and to ex-
press the high sense entertained of his services, congress directed a
monument of marble to be placed in front of St. Paul's church in the
city of New- York, with the following appropriate inscription : —
RICHARD MONTGOMERY.
THIS MONUMENT
Was erected by order of
Congress, 25th January, 1776,
To transmit to posterity
A grateful remembrance of the
Patriotism, conduct, enterprise, and
Perseverance
Of MAJOR-GENERAL RICHARD MONGOMERY;
Who, after a series of success
Amidst the most discouraging difficulties,
Fell in the attack
On Quebec,
31st December, 1775.
Aged 37* years.
His remains, (after resting forty-two years at Quebec,) by a reso-
lution of the state of New- York, were brought to the city; and on the
8th of July, 1818, they were deposited with grateful ceremonies be-
neath the aforesaid monument.
Such an example is worthy of the great state which conceived and
executed it. Many of our brave men and legislators of the era that
tried men's souls still slumber in ignoble scites : it is time the nation
was awakened from its apathy on this subject.
As an appropriate conclusion, we may be permitted to quote the
following character of General MONTGOMERY from Ramsay's His-
tory of the American Revolution :—
" Few men have ever fallen in battle so much regretted by both
sides as General MONTGOMERY. His many amiable qualities had
procured him an uncommon share of private affection, and his great
abilities an equal proportion of public esteem. Being a sincere lover
of liberty, he had engaged in the American cause from principle, and
quitted the enjoyment of an easy fortune and the highest domestic
felicity, to take an active share in the fatigues and dangers of a war
instituted for the defence of the community of which he was an
adopted member. His well-known character was almost equally
esteemed by the friends and foes of the side which he had espoused.
* The age on the monument is 37, as inserted in the text, but it is evidently an error.
General Armstrong, in his Memoir of Montgomery, says, he fell " in the first month of his
fortieth year." — ED.
5
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
In America he was celebrated as a martyr to the liberties of mankind;
in Great Britain, as a misguided good man, sacrificing to what he sup-
posed to be the rights of his country. His name was mentioned in
parliament with singular respect. Some of the most powerful
speakers in that assembly displayed their eloquence in sounding his
praise and lamenting his fate. Those, in particular, who had been
his fellow soldiers in the late war, expatiated on his many virtues.
The minister himself acknowledged his worth while he reprobated
the cause in which he fell. He concluded an involuntary panegyric
by saying — l Curse on his virtues, they have undone his country.' '
Such was General RICHARD MONTGOMERY; a name that we have
cause to remember with pride, not unmingled with regret at his early
but honorable death.
THENEWTo
J
WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE.
ON the 20th December, 1803, the beautiful, rich, and extensive region
of Louisiana, having been ceded to the United States by France, was
formally surrendered to the republic. The American commissioner on
this occasion was invested with the title and powers of intendant and
governor-general of the province, as exercised under the former French
and Spanish dominion. To him was conferred almost unbounded
authority; upon him rested the delicate task of reconciling to a new
dominion, and organizing into a new government, a people long inured
to forms and usages entirely different. Though yet but in the spring
of life, no man could have exercised the former with greater mildness
and moderation, none could have performed the latter with more judg-
ment and ability. When he came, followed by a gallant band of
Americans, to unfurl the banner of his country over its new territories,
all were pleased with the blandness of his manners and the beauty of
his person ; all were astonished to see so young a man invested with
so high a trust : but the subsequent virtue and wisdom of his measures
during a long and tempestuous administration of thirteen years, excited
the love and admiration of all, and have left in the memory of his coun-
trymen of Louisiana a monument more lasting than the marble which
they have consecrated to his virtues. The American who in this high
station thus did honor to himself, and to the judgment of the distin-
guished statesman who appointed him, was WILLIAM CHARLES COLE
CLAIBORNE, the subject of the present memoir.
Governor CLAIBORNE was born in Virginia, of a family who had
been settled in that state for nearly two hundred years. When the
revolution broke out, it is believed that without an exception his family
took the side of the people against arbitrary government, and continued
their efforts, in common with their countrymen, until the glorious result
of the contest. The subject of our sketch was at the close of the revo-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
lution a mere child, and hence could not have been an actor in it ; but
he soon learned to appreciate the magnitude of the task our fathers had
accomplished, and the perils through which it was achieved. His own
father had shared its toils, and it was the custom of the old gentleman,
in his retreat, to recount to his children the exploits of the American
soldiers, the hardships they had encountered, the battles they had
fought, and the victories won. All was painted in glowring colors, even
to the horrors of the prison-ships, and the brutality of the British sol-
diery, who were often guilty of horrible atrocities. Endowed with
some learning, a fine imagination, and an eloquence bold and express-
ive, he thus early impressed on the minds of his sons an invincible
attachment to free government; a determination, when necessary, to lift
their arms in its defence ; and an abhorrence for whoever would raise a
parricidal hand upon the fair fabric of American liberty. Mr. Clai-
borne, however, could leave no inheritance to his children, but educa-
tion and this warm patriotism which he so early inspired ; youthful
indiscretions in part, but principally an honorable zeal in the service
of his country, had dispersed the wealth which he had inherited from
his fathers. Thus the principles of WILLIAM, the second of his four
sons, may be said to have been fixed when he was yet only eight years
of age ; they were then, what they remained through life, eminently
republican. At that early age he excited the admiration of Mr. El-
driclge Harris, the worthy president of the Richmond academy, when
he saw this motto which his scholar WILLIAM had written in his Latin
grammar, " Cara patria, carior libertas ; ubi est libertas, ibi est mea
patria."
Young CLAIBORNE having spent a short time at the college of Wil-
liam and Mary, which he left on account of improper conduct of one
of the ushers towards him, returned to the Richmond academy, and
there acquired a thorough knowledge of his own, with the Latin and
Greek languages, and the most important branches of the mathematics.
While at school, he learned with great facility, and was universally
esteemed and beloved by his professors and fellow students. At the
age of fifteen, he was apprized that for his future establishment in life
he had to depend entirely upon his own exertions ; he determined,
therefore, on his course, and carried it into immediate execution. He
told his father he knew very well he could do nothing more for his
children than educate them ; that he had resolved on his course, and
with his permission would enter upon it forthwith. " I," said he, " have
some acquaintance with Mr. Beckley, clerk to congress ; I will go to
New York, and endeavor to get employment in his office : if I succeed,
WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE.
my fortune is secured ; if I fail with him, my education will recom-
mend me elsewhere, and in as thriving a place as New York, I can
surely do something to support me. All I ask is a small addition to
my stock of clothes, and my passage paid to New York." The manly
firmness with which he addressed these words to his father, the confi-
dence which they implied in his abilities, virtue, and energy, excited
the old man's admiration ; he gazed with rapture on his enterprising
son, and the plan was acceded to. Being now fixed in his resolution,
Mr. CLAIBORNE left school, having first delivered a valedictory address
to the professors and students. Previous to the delivery of this ad-
dress, he had submitted it to the inspection of a learned judge, whose
corrections he solicited ; the next day it was returned with one or two
immaterial alterations, and a note from the judge, which told his young
friend " to continue moral and industrious, and he would become useful
and celebrated ; his path, with the blessings of Providence, would be
strewed with roses, and lighted by the sun of true glory."
Thus encouraged, and fortified by a moral and solid education, with
a mind embellished with stores of Grecian and Roman literature, with
manners urbane, a tall and manly form, and a face uncommonly beau-
tiful, Mr. CLAIBORNE, not yet sixteen years of age, bade farewell to his
family, and took his departure from Richmond in a sloop bound to
New York. He was kindly received by Mr. Beckley, who gave him
immediate employment in his office. The business which devolved
on him, consisted in copying bills and resolutions of congress, and
drawing original bills for members and committees of that body.
These duties giving occupation to only half of his time, a portion of
each day was devoted to reading political works of merit, attending to
the debates of congress, and learning the French language. His even-
ings were almost invariably consecrated to the ladies, to whose society
he was devoted through life. To Mr. Beckley he gave entire satis-
faction, and subsequently repaid all the favors he ha^d received at his
hands. Congress soon removed to Philadelphia, and hither Mr. CLAI-
BORNE went. Soon after his arrival in that city, he became acquainted
with Vice President Adams, and Mr. Jefferson, then secretary of state.
By both these gentlemen, he was treated with great kindness : he
afterwards proved his gratitude to both. Hitherto, Mr. CLAIBORNE
had not fixed on any profession on which to depend for his future
establishment in life ; he had thought of the navy, the army : his
dreams were sometimes golden, and he had even hoped to rise in the
ranks of diplomacy. The bar had not yet presented itself to his mind
in a tempting light ; inconsiderable circumstances, however, have some-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
limes a decisive influence on the destiny of man ; Mr. C. had for some
time been a member of a polemic society, at which were discussed
such questions as from time to time agitated the public mind. At last
a question was proposed for discussion which Mr. C. had deeply re-
flected on ; he determined, therefore, to enter the lists, and try himself
at a public speech. He had now entered his eighteenth year ; we
have told the reader that his person was fine, his pronunciation was
also distinct, accurate, and well-disciplined, and his tones of voice
admirably adapted to public disputation : to these advantages he super-
added, without being himself conscious of it, that grace of gesture
which generally belongs to youth, beauty, and innocence. The suc-
cess of the effort he made on this occasion was surprising ; it elicited
from a crowded audience reiterated bursts of approbation, and an
enlightened member of congress who was present, declared " it shiv-
ered to atoms the arguments of his opponents, and bore off the uncon-
tested prize of superior eloquence." The success of this effort gave
an additional stimulus to his rising hopes, and he determined to enter
on the practice of the law.
It should have been mentioned that Mr. CLAIBORNE had become
intimately acquainted with General John Sevier, then a delegate in
congress from the territory, and afterwards governor of the state of
Tennessee. A friendship grew up between them which continued
unimpaired during their lives, and of all the benefactors Mr. CLAI-
BORNE met with in the beginning of his career, there was none like
this distinguished man, in the number and greatness of his favors.
General Sevier had frequently advised Mr. C. to settle in the territory
south-west of the Ohio ; he stated the opening then was there for a
lawyer, augured that his success would be great, and tendered his
assistance and friendship. These flattering assurances determined his
young friend. He accordingly gave Mr. Beckley notice that he in-
tended to leave him as soon as another clerk could be procured, and
in a short time took an affectionate leave of this good friend to repair
to Richmond, where he remained three months. " During this stay in
Richmond," says his brother, the Hon. Nathaniel Claiborne, " he was
devoted almost entirely to the society of the ladies, and I have heard
him repeatedly say, he had in that time been enabled to read only
through the revised code, and a few chapters in the first volume of
Blackstone's Commentaries. With this dispreparation, as he humor
ously called it, he was an applicant for a license, and, strange as it may
seem, he passed with great credit, as I have been assured by a gentle
man who was examined and licensed at the same time. This my
WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE.
brother attributed to the polemic society in Philadelphia, which he
considered at the time one of the best law schools in the union. Here
he had acquired that general and enlarged view of natural, national,
and municipal law, without labor and without expense, which years of
study could not have afforded."
The object in getting a license in Virginia, was to enable him the
more readily to obtain admittance to the territorial bar ; without license
in another state, a probationary residence was required. And now bid-
ding adieu to the scenes of his youth, and the charms of large cities,
he directed his steps to Sullivan county in the now state of Tennessee,
and entered on the practice of the law. He continued at the bar,
however, only two years, and his success in this short period was
equal to that of any lawyer who ever went before him. No cause of
moment and expectation occurred in a court where he practised, in
which he was not employed. He was frequently sent for to the neigh-
boring court in Virginia; and he commenced his career by receiving a
fee of five hundred dollars, with his expenses paid, for coming to Vir-
ginia to defend a man on a charge of murder. At another time, he
went two hundred miles to argue a case, in the decision of which was
involved property to an immense amount, on the promise of a fee so
large, that Mr. C. refused to receive it, although the cause was gained,
and took only an elegant horse in lieu thereof. Instead of devoting,
as heretofore, much of his time to gay amusements, he was now occu-
pied with his books, .and had already raised himself to the first rank in
his profession ; as an advocate in a criminal case, it is said he stood
unrivalled. Juries have been often dissolved in tears, and enlightened
tribunals have been deeply moved by his touching eloquence. He
now determined to move back to Richmond, and enter on the practice
of the law there. " My brother," says Mr. Nathaniel Claiborne, " had
a quickness of comprehension, a goodness of heart, and a laudable
ambition to be distinguished, in a degree we rarely meet with ; but
unfortunately he was constitutionally lazy, and when we see him
marching with giant strides to eminence in his profession, we are con-
strained to acknowledge that he was urged on by the joint influence
of virtuous ambition and hard necessity. He was attached to Virginia,
and had left it with regret. The very trees that had shaded him from
the summer heat were to him objects of veneration ; these, were the
beautiful seats of his early ancestors : they have long since passed
into other hands, but the everlasting marble records the names of the
first proprietors. There he had received his earliest instruction, and
enjoyed the society of friends who loved him. The determination of
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
my brother to return was heard by the family with enthusiastic plea-
sure, and as the pressure on him for exertion would be greater, those
who knew the powers of his mind were convinced that he must
succeed."
An occurrence now took place which caused the resolution to
remove to Richmond to be abandoned. The population of the terri-
tory having been ascertained to amount to seventy-five thousand, they
demanded admission into the union, and a convention was called to
form a state constitution. Mr. CLAIBORNE was proposed and elected
one of the five members for Sullivan county.
In the convention which soon after assembled, he appeared to great
advantage. It was an enlightened body, and the constitution that
issued from their hands is based upon the truest principles of liberty ;
in the formation of this constitution, WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE had a
principal agency. The education he had received, the books he had
read, the political circles he had frequented, all conspired to give him
an imposing stand. He now stood for the first time before a whole
state, and the goodness of his heart and the magnitude of the object,
united to bring into action all the powers of his mind. His merit was
universally acknowledged. Governor Blount declared, that making
the necessary allowance for his youth, he was the most extraordinary
man he had met with, and that if he lived to attain the age of fifty,
nothing but prejudice could prevent his becoming one of the most dis-
tinguished political characters in America. In the convention of Ten-
nessee, he began his political career, and without intermission he was
thereafter in public life. General Sevier was elected governor of the
new state of Tennessee, and among his first acts was the appointment
of Mr. CLAIBORNE as a judge of the supreme court of law and equity
of the state. Mr. CLAIBORNE was urged by his friends not to accept ;
but in vain. " My motto," said he, " is honor and not money ; Go-
vernor Sevier is my friend, and if I can, I am bound to aid his admin-
istration." At the time of his appointment to a judgeship, and that too
in the highest tribunal in the state, he was not twenty-two years of age.
He continued but a short time in this office, when a vacancy occurring
in the house of representatives of the United States, at the solicitation
of several gentlemen who had served with him in the convention, he
resigned his seat on the bench and became a candidate for congress.
He was elected by an immense majority over his opponent, who was
a man of talent, of great wealth, and extensive connections. A few
days after his election to congress, Mr. CLAIBORNE entered his twenty-
third year. This astonishing and rapid promotion becomes still more
WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE.
surprising, when we consider that he had but recently come into the
district, that he was poor, and had not the advantage of any kindred
blood, even in the most remote degree, in the state of Tennessee.
During the first congress that Mr. CLAIBORNE sat in, he participated
little in debate, but enough to show that he was an acquisition to the
republican party. On the bill providing for the military establishment,
however, the talents of the house were brought out, and the strength
of parties put to trial. On this occasion, Mr. CLAIBORNE delivered his
sentiments ; his speech was adorned with the choicest flowers of an-
cient and modern literature ; it showed a heart deeply convinced, and
earnestly engaged in convincing others ; and if it discovered on its face
•less labor than other speeches bespoke, it was exempt from the venom
which conflicting political prejudices had on this occasion developed :
and the spirit of benevolence which it breathed, with the classic purity
of the style, recommended it to general attention. A listener thus
described it : " It seemed to be a spontaneous effort, the object was to
persuade and convince, not to surprise ; it had passion and feeling in
every sentence, but it was the passion of the heart ; satisfied he was
right, he was bent on the conviction of others. So earnest was Mr.
C., that he forced himself on the affection of the most indifferent, and
excited the enthusiastic admiration of his friends : though he was zeal-
ous, it was without bustle ; he was ardent, but not acrimonious ; and
if he fell short of some of the veterans who preceded him, you were
loath to make the admission, while you reflected that he was the
youngest man who had ever appeared on the floor of congress."
The constitution had not required that the electors should designate
on their tickets the person they voted for as president, and the one
voted for as vice president, but simply that they should give their votes
for two persons ; that the one having the highest number of votes
should be president, and the one having the next highest should be
vice president. Now it so happened, that Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Burr
had an equal number of votes, and it devolved on the house of repre-
sentatives to decide which of them should be president, the choice to
be made by ballot, and each state in the union to have but one vote.
The contest was extremely animated, for on this occasion the great
federal and republican parties came into violent conflict. It was clear
that Jefferson had been voted for as president, and Burr, vice president;
they had been so nominated before the election, and in every vote
given for the two, Jefferson was first named ; when, therefore, it was
understood that they were returned with an equal number of votes to
the house of representatives, it was supposed of course that the public
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
voice would be obeyed, and Jefferson made president. The federal
party, however, determined to support Colonel Burr ; they knew very
well the political sentiments of every member of the house of repre-
sentatives, and they early ascertained that the election depended on the
vote of Mr. CLAIBORNE, the sole representative from the state of Ten-
nessee. Mr. C., who, on this occasion had been reflected to congress,
was young and aspiring ; the federal party knew, too, that he was poor.
They flattered themselves that his vote might be secured, and indi-
rectly proffered various temptations to obtain it. But Mr. CLAIBORNE
was too firm to be brought over : he knew the public voice, and thought
it honorable and proper to obey it. The day at last arrived, when this
great question of the presidency was to be decided, and the states
were equally divided on the first ballot ; several other ballots took
place, and the result was the same, when the house adjourned. The
news spread through the union like fire, and everywhere produced
the liveliest sensation. The importance of Mr. CLAIBORNE'S vote was
so well understood, that he went armed to the house ; for what might
occur from the extraordinary excitement that prevailed, no one could
foresee : rumors were even afloat that the parties in the country were
beginning to arm.
For several days, congress, and the country around, were a scene
of terrible confusion : thirty-six ballots had been had, and the result
was the same ; an equality of votes for Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Burr.
On every ballot, Mr. CLAIBORNE had voted for Jefferson, and declared
that as he felt satisfied that that gentleman was the choice of the people,
he was determined to adhere to him, let the consequences be what
they would. On the thirty-seventh ballot, the state of Vermont, that
had hitherto voted for Colonel Burr, threw in a blank ballot, and Jef-
ferson was elected. Mr. C. did what he considered his duty with a
determined mind, and to his vote was owing, in a great measure, the
result of this important contest.
Mr. CLAIBORNE remained but a short time after this in congress. A
serious misunderstanding having arisen between the people of the Mis-
sissippi territory and their then governor, many distinguished individ-
uals of that country signified a wish for the appointment of Mr. C. as
their governor, and, in conformity therewith, he received and accepted
an appointment to that office in 1801, from President Jefferson.
Mr. CLAIBORNE proceeded to his new government with all possible
despatch. He reached the beautiful hills of Natchez on the 23d of
November, where he was received with enthusiasm, and he imme-
diately entered with zeal upon the duties of his charge.
WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE.
On his arrival, he had found the infant community over which he
was to preside torn by local dissensions and personal animosities ; by
these different factions he was hailed with gladness, each hoping to
make of him the instrument of separate views or private vengeance ;
but he repelled all such attempts with firmness, though mildly, and
taking sides with none, he made it his duty to hear all parties : to
sooth and conciliate all, but to act for himself, with independence,
impartiality, and justice.
Mr. CLAIBORNE had lately married Miss Eliza Lewis, of Nashville.
She was tall and graceful, with perfect symmetry of feature, and her
wealthy and indulgent parents had early procured for her those advan-
tages of education that add new charms to the female character. Thus
blessed with the affections of an amiable wife, in possession of an inde-
pendent fortune, and without an enemy on earth, Mr. C. spent two
years most happily as governor of the Mississippi territory ; and how
far he enjoyed the love and confidence of the people during this period,
may be seen by the following address, which he received after he
had repaired to New Orleans, on a mission of still higher importance.
" To His Excellency WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE, governor of the Mississippi territory,
exercising the powers of governor-general and intendant of the province of Louisiana:
" The exertions of a public officer to confer happiness on the community by dispensing
equal and impartial justice, and preserving unimpaired the constitutional liberties of the
people, deserve the return of grateful acknowledgments. The citizens of Washington and
its vicinity, therefore, pray your excellency to accept their undivided approbation of the firm
and dignified measures of your late administration in this territory. If integrity of conduct,
united to an enlightened mind filled with benevolence and universal philanthropy, are worthy
of eulogium, all that those virtues merit we offer you as a just tribute.
"We congratulate your excellency on the unanimity and harmony with which the Ameri-
can government is received by our new fellow-citizens of Louisiana; this great and interest-
ing event cannot fail to exhibit ' the fairest page in the volume of faithful history;' and the
high characters who so ably managed the negotiation, from its commencement to the ever
memorable surrender on the 20th day of December last, will share the warmest affection of
the American people.
" On this auspicious occasion, we reflect with honest pride and exultation, that in dis-
charging the highest trust and confidence reposed in your excellency by the president of the
United States, nothing has appeared repugnant to the principles of inflexible justice, mingled
with humanity. We earnestly desire the return of your excellency to the Mississippi terri-
tory. We anticipate no change by which we can gain either a better friend, or a more
patriotic governor ; but should the general government require your aid in another quarter,
we tender you this pledge of undissembled friendship, and a sincere wish that you may ever
continue to merit and obtain the confidence of your country."
In this conspicuous station, the highest in the gift of the general
government, and to discharge which required judgment, prudence, and
ability, far beyond the lot of ordinary men, Mr. CLAIBORNE had a dim"-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
cult and perplexing task to perform. He had found the province of
Louisiana in some parts almost fallen into anarchy, and throughout the
administration every thing to reform or reorganize. Government had
scarcely a nerve not wounded by corruption, and the business in every
department was wrapped in mystery and intrigue, and had been left in
confusion often inexplicable. Under the last Spanish governor, not
only many posts of honor and profit in his gift were sold, but even
when exercising the sacred character of a judge, he often vended his
decisions to the highest bidder. Such being the character of the head,
it is not surprising that the same depravities pervaded every branch of
the system. The Louisianians, however, were a well-disposed and
generous people ; the greater part gave a cheerful and sincere wel-
come to the American government and its new institutions ; but gener-
ally their defect of education, which had been the policy of their former
rulers, their ignorance of the English language, and especially of poli-
tical affairs, rendered them credulous, and often liable to become dupes
to the machinations of individuals, who for their own ends are ever
busy in exciting discontent in the public mind.
Thus Governor CLAIBORNE soon had to contend against the most
unprincipled intrigues and factions, directed principally by some of his
own ambitious countrymen, who had emigrated to the new territory,
and who, envious of his authority and high station, used every means
to thwart his administration, and to destroy him in the eyes of the
people and of his government. So violent were these attacks, that the
governor was brought to the field, to defend his character against the
calumnies of a Mr. Daniel Clarke, who, by his wealth, his ambition,
and his talent for intrigue, had acquired some influence in the country.
He was severely wounded on this occasion, and confined a long time
to his bed ; but he sustained himself in his station, and persisted in his
honorable course. He made it his especial care to protect and encour-
age the people he had been sent to govern ; he used every means in
his power to conciliate them to their American countrymen, and to
spread among them the blessings of education, and of that political
information, which alone could enable them to govern themselves, and
to use and appreciate properly the great privileges of freemen, which
they were to enjoy. He became sincerely attached to these his adopt-
ed countrymen ; and from the purity of his character, the mildness of
his official and private conduct, and the benevolence that beamed from
his noble countenance, no man was better calculated to have reconciled
and attached this new and foreign people to the government he repre-
sented. The Louisianians often proved their attachment to him, and
10
WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE.
when they were admitted into the union as an independent state in
1812, they sanctioned the choice of the general government, by elect-
ing him governor, by their own free, and almost unanimous voice.
Mr. CLAIBORNE, however, during this period had met with many
private misfortunes. During the first summer in, which he had been
exposed to that climate so baneful to strangers, he had nearly suc-
cumbed himself to an attack of the yellow fever ; his lady fell a victim
to that fatal disease, his infant daughter accompanied her mother, and
his brother-in-law young Lewis, who had followed him to Louisiana,
fell in a duel. All three had expired on the same day, and were con-
signed to the same tomb. When time had allayed the grief of this
great calamity, Mr. C. subsequently married Miss Clarissa Duralde, a
young Creole lady of great beauty and mental qualities, whom he had
the misfortune to lose also, two years after marriage. His situation
rendering the position of a single life in some measure unbecoming,
he again married, in 1812, Miss Bosque, an accomplished lady of
Spanish extraction, by whom he is survived.
In 1814 and '15, during the memorable invasion of that state by the
English, Mr. CLAIBORNE was still in the executive chair of Louisiana,
and had been active and highly instrumental in preparing the military
defence of the country, and giving to General Jackson, previous to his
arrival on that station, all the necessary information relative thereto.
He, however, voluntarily surrendered to the general, when he arrived,
the command of the militia of his state, and consented himself to re-
ceive his orders ; a measure which he thought a just tribute to the
military experience of General Jackson, and which he adopted, also, to
avoid to his state all the expenses of the equipment and movements of
her militia, which would have fallen upon her alone had he kept the
command. Thus, to his great regret, it was not the fortune of Gov-
ernor CLAIBORNE to have participated personally in the glorious contest
of the 8th of January. He was marching rapidly, to join in the action
of the 23d of December, at the head of a select corps of Louisiana
militia, eager to meet the enemy, when he received orders from Gene-
ral Jackson to turn back immediately, and repair with his troops to
Gentilly, to occupy the important pass of Chef-Menteur, where it was
feared that the English had made a diversion ; he obeyed, and reluct-
antly directed his march to that station, which he fortified, and remain-
ed in that command during the whole contest, which terminated in the
memorable battle of New Orleans. Previous to this, an occurrence
had taken place, which may be worthy here of insertion. All have
heard of the adventurer Lafitte, whose piratical character was some-
11
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
what extenuated by many traits of valor and generosity, and against
whose depredations in our southern seas, the efforts of Governor CLAI-
BORNE and of the general government had been long directed, with
but little success. The British commander of the naval expedition
against Louisiana, aware of the intrepidity of this buccaneer, and of
his perfect topographical knowledge of this region, when he approach-
ed the waters of the Mississippi, addressed a letter to Lafitte, offering
a large sum of money, and a captaincy in the British navy, for his aid
and counsel to the invading expedition. Lafitte rejected with contempt
these offers ; to prove his sincerity, he immediately sent the letter of
the British commander to Governor CLAIBORNE, by a confidential
agent, and tendered his services with those of his band to the Ameri-
can government, provided all criminal prosecutions against them by
the United States should be suspended. The governor immediately
accepted the proposal, upon consultation with the proper authorities.
Lafitte and his determined band were admitted into our ranks, and
subsequently rendered the most efficient services at the head of our
artillery ; we need not say that they obtained the pardon which their
conduct merited.
In 1817, on the expiration of his term as governor of the state, Mr.
CLAIBORNE was elected to represent Louisiana in the senate of the
United States ; but fate had here decreed a premature end to his
career : he died in New Orleans, of a liver complaint, on the 23d of
November, 1817, and in the forty-second year of his age. All ranks
attended his remains to the grave with undissembled grief. The
municipal authorities on the same day decreed a public mourning, and
appropriated a sum of money to erect a marble monument to his
memory.
Thus guided by the firm integrity, the virtue, and the sincere and
warm devotion to his country, which particularly distinguished him.
Governor CLAIBORNE had sustained his character throughout his event
ful administration, as a pure and devoted, an able, dignified, and vir-
tuous chief magistrate. It was his lot to have been at the helm of the
important post of Louisiana during all the critical periods of our early
collisions with Spain upon our southern frontiers, of the Burr conspir
acy, and of the invasion of Louisiana by a British army. In all these
circumstances, he remained the able agent, and the faithful sentinel of
his country upon the outskirts of the union. No man had ever enjoyed
greater honors at so early an age : seldom has virtue been rewarded by
a more rapid and brilliant career. C.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
A8TOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN
n^avfed by -I-Gross from .a dra\wng by W G./.-nnstrong after a Miniature by Isabe'
JOSHUA. BARNEY
THE reputation of her citizens should be dear to every member of the
Union. The number and merit of their services is, indeed, often the
only patrimony of their children, but the effect of their example can-
not pass away, whilst Honor continues to point to their deeds, in the
pages of the history of their country. No state has produced more
or brighter examples of bravery and patriotism than the gallant state
of Maryland, where the subject of this notice was born, on the 6th
of July, 1759, at Baltimore. He discovered early an inclination for
the sea, and after making several voyages, was second mate at the
early age of fourteen years, and was, by the accidental death of his
captain, placed in command of a vessel when only sixteen. A series
of adventures, having the character more of romance than reality,
attended this sudden and early responsibility, not the least singular
of which was his detention at Alicant, and his compulsory service
in the ill-conducted and disastrous expedition fitted out against Al-
giers by the king of Spain, and entrusted to the unfortunate Count
O'Reilly. Released by the defeat of the Spaniards, he returned
home, arrived in the Chesapeake Bay on the 1st of October, 1775, and
learned from the officers of a British sloop of war, who boarded him,
that that Revolution which was to call forth in him a devotion to
native land that has never been surpassed, was already begun. His
services were quickly offered to his country ; he became master's
mate of the sloop Hornet, often guns, and was the first to unfurl, in
Maryland, the American flag, whose honor he afterwards so often
and so well sustained. This, his first service, was as a volunteer,
and he continued to act as such until his appointment as lieutenant
in the navy, which took place in June, 1776.
On the 6th of July, 1776, Lieutenant BARNEY sailed from Phila-
delphia in the sloop Sachem, commanded by Captain Isaiah Robinson,
and very soon fell in with and captured a letter of marque brig, well
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
armed, after a very severe action of two hours. Transferred to the
Andrea Doria, of fourteen guns, in consequence of the shattered con-
dition of the Sachem, Captain Robinson and Lieutenant BARNEY
sailed again from the port of Philadelphia, into which they had been
so fortunate as to bring their prize, for St. Eustatia, took in a cargo
of small arms and ammunition for the army, engaged and captured
the Racehorse of twelve guns, fitted out expressly with a picked crew
to intercept and take the Andrea Doria, and commanded by a lieu-
tenant of the royal navy. It became his lot, however, to be taken
prisoner by the enemy in January, 1777 — a prize, on board of
which he was prize-master, being retaken by the Perseus, of twenty
guns, then cruising off Cape Henry. He was carried into Charleston,
South Carolina, and there released on his parole. Upwards of eight
months passed before his exchange for Lieutenant Moriarty of the
Solebay was effected ; a period of time not unprofitably spent, for it
was devoted to study.
In December, 1777, Lieutenant BARNEY was appointed to the Vir-
ginia frigate, and remained in her till her capture, on the 1st of
April following, by the British squadron in the Chesapeake. Another
period of imprisonment — an exchange and return to Baltimore, were
the precursors of new adventures, among which two engagements —
the capture of a British letter of marque and a voyage to France —
were the most important, particularly the last ; for that resulted in
pecuniary benefit, and probably led him to form the most important
connection of his life. He married the daughter of Gunning Bed-
ford, Esq., of Philadelphia, on the 16th of March, 1780.
After remaining some time ashore, Lieutenant BARNEY was or-
dered to the United States' ship Saratoga, of sixteen guns, Captain
Young, and sailed from Philadelphia on a cruise. Various prizes
were made, and, among others, an English ship of thirty-two guns
and ninety men, carried by Lieutenant BARNEY, who boarded her
with fifty men under the smoke of a broadside ; and after a severe con-
flict, hauled down her colors. Ordered to bring his prize in, he steered
/or the Delaware ; but after stopping a formidable leak in her, he was
captured by a squadron of the enemy, landed at Plymouth in Eng-
land, after enduring treatment that was never forgotten, and con-
fined in Mill Prison.
Our limits do not permit us to relate the various adventures which
followed a well-laid and successfully conducted plan of escape.
After remaining some time at large in England, he reached Mar-
gate, took passage in a packet for Ostend, and finally reached the
JOSHUA BARNEY.
Beverly, Massachusetts. He arrived in Philadelphia on the 21st of
March. 1782.
We approach the best known, if it be not at the same time the
most brilliant, exploit of his life. The tories, with numerous craft,
had a force sufficient, aided by the presence of several British men of
war, to cause the greatest annoyance, during the spring of 1782, to
the commerce of Philadelphia. The state of Pennsylvania under-
took to destroy these freebooters, and a force was organized under her
authority for that purpose. The offer of one of the vessels, a small ship
carrying sixteen six pounders and a hundred and ten men, equip-
ped principally through the liberality and enterprise of citizens of
Philadelphia, was made to Lieutenant BARNEY, who took command
of her a few days after his return home. This vessel was the "Hy-
der Ally." She sailed on the 8th of April, 1782, with a fleet of mer-
chantmen, under instructions to convoy them to the Capes, and then
to return for the protection of the Delaware. Upon reaching Cape May
road, the convoy were approached by two ships and a brig of the
enemy's forces, and immediately got under weigh in obedience to a
signal, and began to run up the bay. The brig first approached,
and gave the Hyder Ally a broadside, and passed on after the mer-
chantmen. The broadside was not returned, as one of the enemy's
ships was fast approaching — into her, as soon as she came within
pistol shot, Captain BARNEY poured a tremendous fire ; and, as she
was ranging alongside, by a prompt manosuvre, caught her jib-boom
in the Hyder Ally's fore rigging, thus obtaining a position which
enabled him to rake her with such effect, that in twenty-six minutes
her colors were struck. The enemy's other ship (the Quebec frigate)
was by this time very near, and the first lieutenant of the Hyder
Ally and thirty-five men were quickly put on board the prize, which
was despatched with all speed up the bay. Having outsailed the
frigate, the prize was hailed by Captain BARNEY, who found her to
be his Britannic Majesty's ship the "General Monk," mounting twenty
nine pounders, with a crew of one hundred arid thirty-six men,
commanded by Captain Josiah Rodgers of the royal navy. The
General Monk had twenty men killed, including the first lieutenant,
purser, surgeon, boatswain, and gunner ; and thirty-three wounded,
among whom were Captain Rodgers and all the officers of the ship,
with the exception of one midshipman. The loss on board the Hyder
Ally was four men killed, and eleven were wounded. Captain BAR-
NEY escaped unhurt, though a musket ball passed through his hat
and another tore his coat.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
The mortification of the British at this capture was extreme ;* the
triumph of the Americans was expressed in congratulatory ad-
dresses ; the legislature of Pennsylvania passed a vote of thanks to
Captain BARNEY, and also presented him, in the name of the state,
with a sword, superbly mounted with gold, and bearing the proper
emblematic representation of his victory. The ballads of the day—
for in those days they wrote ballads — celebrated his valor and good
conduct ; and there were few to whom the fame of " the roaring Hy-
der Ally" and her gallant commander was unknown.
The Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania authorized the
purchase of the General Monk, and her name being changed to that
of the •'< General Washington," Captain BARNEY was commissioned as
her commander on the 16th of May, 1782. He proceeded in her to Ha-
vana upon an important service ; and, having accomplished it,
returned to Philadelphia, where he arrived in safety, after having the
satisfaction of making a successful attack upon a number of refugee
barges in the Delaware Bay, sinking arid destroying them, and re-
capturing a number of vessels of which they had taken possession.
Selected, in October, 1782, to carry out to Dr. Franklin the instruc-
tions of his own government before the British commissioners should
arrive at Paris, Captain BARNEY passed the British force at the
mouth of the Delaware, and arrived in seventeen days at L'Orient.
He returned to Philadelphia on the 12th of March, 1783, bearing the
news of peace — having been furnished with the king of Great
Britain's passport for the " ship General Washington^ belonging to
the United States of North America."
Peace brought with it occupations of a character widely different
from those in which Captain BARNEY had been accustomed to be en-
gaged. He was appointed to civil office, but the sea seemed his ele-
ment ; and in the summer of 1 790 he projected a voyage to South
America, and was engaged in various enterprizes of a commercial
nature until 1793, when his ship, the Sampson, was taken, on the
14th of July, by three privateers from Jamaica and New Providence.
The firmness and decision of character for which he was so remark-
able, soon evinced itself in the recapture of his vessel, five days after
her capture, with the aid of his carpenter and boatswain, after a short
conflict, in which he wounded one of the three English prize officers
* It seems to have lasted for almost half a century. See the account of the action in
Warner's Literary Recollections, Vol. I. p. 324, London, 1830. He describes the action as
"long and desperate — tremendous was the carnage on both sides ;" and avers that Captain
Rodgers's antagonist was " greatly his superior in tonnage, guns, and men."
JOSHUA BARNEY.
severely. He arrived in Baltimore early in August, bringing his
English captors with him.
Having made the proper disposition of his late prisoners, Captain
BARNEY sailed for Cape Francois, to arrange his unsettled business
in the Island of St. Domingo. Having settled it, he sailed on the
last of December, 1793, from Port au Prince, for Baltimore, and the
next day was captured by the British frigate Penelope, Captain
Rowley, who, after behaving to him in a manner to lessen the fame
of his country's service, carried him and his captured vessel, the
Sampson, into Jamaica. The Grand Jury of the Admiralty Court
found a bill against him for Piracy, and another for " shooting with
intent to kill," founded upon the recapture of his own vessel, and
wounding one of the captors, as has been already related. He was,
however, triumphantly acquitted by the jury ; but his ship's cargo
was condemned as prize by the judge in the proceedings against
them. It must not be supposed that during these unexampled pro-
ceedings against him he was forgotten by his country or his friends.
The statement which Captain BARNEY made of his case called forth
the prompt interference of his government. A vigorous remon-
strance was addressed by the secretary of state to the British minis-
ter on the subject, — General Washington declared his determina-
tion to avenge any punishment inflicted upon him by the most prompt
retaliation — and he granted a special permission to a pilot boat from
Baltimore, manned with volunteers and despatched by his friends,
to proceed to his relief; an embargo, laid on all the ports of the
United States, having rendered such permission necessary. After
intolerable suffering and fatigue, the crew of the pilot boat arrived
in her at Jamaica, and the despatches they carried to the governor
from the British minister produced a change in the personal treat-
ment of Captain BARNEY, but they did not restore his property.
After his return to Baltimore, Captain BARNEY was appointed to
command one of the six vessels authorized by congress, which formed
the then navy of the United States. The letter of the secretary of
war, announcing his appointment to him, stated the relative rank of
the captains to be John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot,
JOSHUA BARNEY, Richard Dale, Thomas Truxton. This appoint-
ment he declined on the 7th of June, 1794, the day he received no-
tice of it, on the ground that the appointment placed him in order of
rank below Silas Talbot, who had been a lieutenant colonel in the
army, but was without any experience as a naval officer.
Being thus at liberty to attend to his private affairs, Captain BARNEY
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
sailed for France, to settle, if possible, some of the claims on the go-
vernment of that country arising out of his former St. Domingo
voyages. He was a fellow-passenger with Mr. Monroe, then minis-
ter to that country, who, on the 14th of September, 1794, selected
him as the bearer of the American flag presented to the National
Convention. This body decreed that he should be employed in
the navy of the Republic ; and, just before his return to the United
States, he was offered, by the minister of marine, the command of the
Alexander, a seventy-four gun ship, not long before taken from the
British — a circumstance to him of no trifling import ; but his private
affairs prevented him from accepting the flattering offer, and until
they were arranged he declined an appointment. Subsequently he
received the appointments of Capitaine de Vaisseau, and Chef de
Division des Armies Navales, and before the end of May, 1795, he
sailed from Rochfort with two fine frigates, La Harmonie of forty-
four guns, on board of which he hoisted his flag, and La Railleuse
of thirty-six guns, bound for St. Domingo. He continued in the
French service, actively and efficiently engaged, and encountering
constant peril and adventure, until 1802, when he resigned ; and
after having received ample testimony of the merit of his services,
returned to the United States in October of that year.
To arrange affairs left during eight years' absence to the care of
others, and to establish himself at home for the rest of his days, be-
came the immediate object of Commodore BARNEY'S attention. In
the year 1804, the sentence of the court at Jamaica condemning the
Sampson and her cargo, was reversed, and their value ordered to be
restored ; and in the course of the following year he received a
handsome remittance from Paris on account of his claims upon the
French Government.
The attack upon the Chesapeake frigate excited in Commodore
BARNEY, in a high degree, the feelings which pervaded the nation
at the outrageous insult offered to it ; and on that occasion he wrote
to Mr. Jefferson, the president of the United States, to offer his ser-
vices, asking to be " employed in any manner which might be
thought conducive to the good of his country " — an offer which he
repeated to Mr. Madison in 1809.
The declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812, found Com-
modore BARNEY on his farm, in Anne Arundel county (Md.) ; but he
remained there a very short time. Less than three weeks after its an-
nunciation, he was on board an armed vessel, the Rossie, of ten
guns, in which, during a short cruise, he did the enemy incredible
JOSHUA BARNEY.
damage, and captured a letter of marque and a king's packet, the
latter after a severe action.
The command of the Flotilla, fitted out at Baltimore to protect the
Chesapeake Bay, was offered to him in 1813, but he was unable to
commence his operations till April 1814. He engaged the British
forces sent against him from the squadron on the 1st, 7th, 9th, and
10th of June following, with great gallantry and very decisive
effect. These engagements were but the prelude to more serious
operations. The British had determined to attack Baltimore and
Washington ; and with the view to be within reach of either place
on the occasion of an attempt upon it, Commodore BARNEY moved
his flotilla up the Patuxent as far as Nottingham, a village on that
river about forty miles from Washington, where he learned, on the
16th of August, that the enemy had entered and were ascending the
river. The orders of the secretary of the navy, to whom he commu-
nicated the intelligence by express, were, to run the flotilla as far
up the river as possible, and upon the enemy landing, to destroy it,
and march to join General Winder's army with the men.
The British landed on the 21st of August at Benedict, and di-
rected the march of their forces upon Washington. Upon receiving
intelligence of their approach, Commodore BARNEY landed with up-
wards of four hundred men, leaving about a hundred men to blow
up the flotilla, then a short distance above Pig Point, if attacked, and
likely to fall into the hands of the enemy. On the 22d of August he
joined General Winder's army at the Woodyard, where he found
Captain Miller,* with eighty marines and five pieces of heavy artil-
lery, placed under his command by the secretary of the navy. On the
24th of August he marched to Bladensburg, and pressing on, he found
the American forces drawn up, and covering the road for some distance
west of the town, arid shortly after they became engaged with the
British. He formed his own men, and arranged his artillery in battery.
and had scarcely so done before the enemy appeared in the road, and
advanced upon him. He opened his fire upon them with admirable
precision, and such destructive effect, as to drive them from the road
at the first discharge ; they rallied and returned, but it was to meet
the same result. They turned off to a field on their left, with the
view to avoid the battery and continue their advance ; but Commo-
dore BARNEY, observing the movement, directed the marines under
Captains Miller and Sevier, and the flotilla men acting as infantry,
* Now Colonel Miller— 1337.
7
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
to charge them, whilst he poured a destructive fire upon their flank.
The charge was executed with great celerity and determination; the
veterans of the 86th and 4th, or " King's Own," giving way before
it, and flying, pursued by their assailants — the sailors crying out to
:< board them,"- -until they got into a ravine covered with woods, leav-
ing their wounded officers, among whom was Colonel Thornton,
who had led them on, in the possession of the Americans. It would
have been well for the honor of America, if all who were present on
that day had behaved with the same decision and effect as Com-
modore BARNEY and his command ; but whilst they were sus-
taining the credit of their country, the other troops had disappeared ,
and in the confusion of their retreat, the wagon containing the ammu-
nition for his cannon and small arms had been carried off. The
British light troops acting en tirailleur, had, in consequence of the
total absence of any support, gained positions on his flanks near
enough to produce effect with their fire, and to wound and kill
several of his best officers — Captains Miller and Sevier had both been
wounded in charging the enemy; and Commodore BARNEY him-
self, after having had his horse killed under him, received a musket
ball in the thigh. The force of the enemy was constantly increasing,
for the want of ammunition prevented the only effective resistance
they had met with from being continued ; and an order was given to
retreat, which the officers and men who were able to march effected
in excellent order ; but the Commodore's wound rendered him un-
able to move, and he was made prisoner. He was treated by Gene-
ral Ross with great attention and care, paroled upon the ground, and
conveyed to Bladensburg, where he remained until the 27th of
August, when he was conveyed to his farm at Elkridge.
On the 8th of October, 1814, Commodore BARNEY was exchanged,
and on the 10th resumed the command of the flotilla; but the news
of peace, received in February, 1815, rendered his services no longer
necessary to his country. With the exception of a voyage to Eu-
rope as the bearer of despatches, selected by the president, to the
American plenipotentiaries, he returned no more to public life ; unless
the appointment of naval officer at Baltimore, which he received in
November, 1817, from President Monroe, can be so termed. His
latter years were occupied in the settlement of his claims to a body
of valuable lands in Kentucky, to which state he was preparing to
remove when he was seized with a bilious fever at Pittsbnrg in
Pennsylvania, where he died, on the 1st of December, 1818, at the
age of fifty-nine. I.
8
A8TOR
N
Engraved by Hoppner Meyer from a Painting by J.Wood.
THOMAS SAY.
SCIENCE, and particularly Natural Science, has fewer holds upon
the popular attention than the achievements of war or policy. La-
boring to render some small service to the whole human race, and
occupied in preparing the workmanship of their minds for the scru-
tiny of men in foreign countries and future ages, the votaries of
philosophy may perhaps feel their task even more dignified ; as its
field is more extensive and permanent than the changes of empires.
They lean, perhaps, habitually less to the applause of the age and
country in which they live, than to that gradually accumulating
sanction of mankind which begins in obscurity, and gradually dif-
fuses itself — a scattered and posthumous fame.
" Not all at once, as thunder breaks the cloud :
The notes at first, were rather sweet than loud ;
By just degrees they ev'ry moment rise,
Fill the wide earth and gain upon the skies ! "
Yet as our countrymen have never shown themselves deaf to the
praise of honorable actions, though achieved in a field in which
the great mass takes but little interest, and as they pride themselves
in the reputation of the men who have done honor to America in
the closet, we do not fear to entrust the fame of a naturalist to those
who cherish with a just delight the memories of Godfrey and Rit-
tenhouse, or the scientific renown of a Franklin. The political
institutions of America, and the abstract researches of the intellect,
have at least this quality in common — that they are applicable to a
wider field than a single age or nation, and that the lessons they
teach, however desirable for those who are engaged in them, derive
their principal value from their adaptation to the general service of
mankind.
The family of THOMAS SAY was settled in Pennsylvania from the
time of its first colonization. His ancestors by the father's side are
understood to have been Huguenots, who migrated to England in
pursuit of religious liberty : and his lineal predecessor, in the fourth
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
degree of proximity, came to America with William Perm, accom-
panied by others of his family. The integrity and activity of these
high principled and determined men were rewarded by a liberal
share of the Divine blessings upon the external circumstances which
surrounded them. They and their descendants generally lived to an
extreme age, surrounded by peace and abundance, and enjoying the
confidence and respect of their fellow-citizens within the colony.
His grandfather, Thomas Say, a very patriarchal man, was united,
early in the eighteenth century, to the religious society of Friends.
Dr. Benjamin Say was long known in Philadelphia as a skilful and
benevolent practitioner of medicine, and enjoyed in that capacity a
large share of public confidence and patronage. Having been con-
nected with military proceedings during the war of Independence,
he joined that seceding portion of the society of which he had been
a member, known by the name of Free Quakers.
The immediate subject of our memoir was bom July 27th, 1787;
and was the eldest son of Dr. Benjamin Say. and Anna, his first
wife, a daughter of Benjamin Bonsall, Esq., of Kingsessing. In his
early youth he was brought up in rigid compliance with many of
the peculiar observances of his religious connexion. He received a
considerable part of his education at their school at Westtown in
Pennsylvania, and the remainder of it generally at their other in-
stitutions. He manifested at this period a remarkable docility of
temper, a profound and confiding respect for his parents and teachers,
and a great fondness for study. He pursued, in independence of any
one's advice or suggestion, a very extended course of reading among
the writers of his own language ; a pursuit, however, soon destined
to give way to the accumulation of fact or natural truth.
At an early period of his life, a near family connexion with the
celebrated naturalist, William Bartram, of Kingsessing, induced the
young SAY, together with several of his acquaintance, to devote a
considerable amount of time to collecting objects for their vene-
rable friend's museum. This occurrence seems to have fixed his
destiny. The student, young as he was, felt himself at once in his
proper sphere. He immediately commenced the study of natural
history ; a pursuit which, though occasionally suffering a temporary
interruption, was never wholly laid aside for the remainder of his
life. The natural gaiety of youth, the attractions of fashion, the
multiform allurements which surround a young man of easy fortune,
and even the serious claims of a commercial establishment, were all
capable of occupying his mind but for a short season, to be super-
THOMAS SAY.
seded by those boundless cravings for knowledge which an Almighty
power had placed within his breast. When, in compliance with the
earnest wishes of his father, he entered into commercial engagements,
the future naturalist was found by his friends occupied with those
pursuits for which nature had designed him, and leaving the de-
tails of business to others. The commercial efforts proved unsuc-
cessful ; and Mr. SAY, deprived of his patrimony, instead of endea-
voring to repair the loss, resolved to devote himself exclusively to
Natural History. From this may be dated the commencement of
his purely scientific career ; he now began to consider science as a
profession, and the loss of worldly property seemed the road to higher
intellectual distinction and more enlarged usefulness.
o
The studies of the youthful naturalist, about this period, under-
went a temporary interruption from his service as a volunteer in
the last war between our country and England. In common with
several of his friends and relations, he became a member of the first
troop of city cavalry ; and in that capacity proceeded to Mount Bull,
where he remained for some time during the years 1812 and 1813.
On the breaking up of this military post at the conclusion of peace, lie
had already devoted considerable labor to the study of natural history
and the collection of the natural productions of our country, when
he found the arena of his usefulness suddenly extended by the for-
mation of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. When, on
the 25th of January, 1812, a little association, which had previously
met in a more private manner, resolved to assume this style and cha-
racter, it was considered of importance that THOMAS SAY, though
absent from the meeting, should be assumed as an original member.
The compliment thus paid to a modest and retiring man, shows,
as was intended, the value which was then set upon his adhesion
by the six others who thus associated him to their number. How
amply his subsequent course justified their selection, the Academy
lias gladly testified. Such was the effect of private study, that his
subsequent acquaintance had no opportunity of witnessing the in-
fancy of his scientific powers. His elementary knowledge was com-
plete, his acquaintance with classification adequate, and his power
of observing and discriminating, accurate and ready. He was at
once prepared for the difficult and laborious task of describing and
cataloguing American productions in natural history. From this
period, and for a considerable interval, his labors are almost exclu-
sively directed in co-operation with the institution which he had
assisted in founding.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
In the tasks undertaken by Mr. SAY, almost every thing was to be
done. The examination of the invertebral animals was to be intro-
duced to the notice of our citizens ; the myriads of minute objects of
this class which attract the eye in our country, were to be investi-
gated and described ; the study was to be created, and the students
induced to prosecute it.
For these purposes his efforts were truly unremitting. He was
attentive and regular in his presence at the meetings of the Academy ;
and during the intervals, may be said to have been always at his
post. Those who were in the habit of visiting the building will
abundantly recollect the uniformity with which he was to be found
there. The value of such assiduous attendance, by such a man,
may be easily imagined. Those who were disposed to visit the es-
tablishment were at all times certain of agreeable society ; for Mr.
SAY was ever attentive to all reasonable calls for conversation, so
much as even to surprise his friends. The effect of his liberality of
disposition, with his amenity of manner, was peculiarly fascinating j
and tended forcibly to produce in the same individuals a combined
feeling of love for the science, and for the naturalist who had thus
gained their affections.
This indefatigable and eminent man was at all times ready to be-
stow the fruits of his own researches upon those of his friends who
felt an interest in similar pursuits. In this manner he was incalcu-
lably serviceable to young students in natural history by his advice
and assistance ; feeling far more anxious to extend the sphere of sci-
ence in his country than to increase his own fame. This generosity
in bestowing upon others the results of his own industry, so highly
characteristic of true genius and real love for science, might be re-
ferred, in part, to a sense of his own strength. He had reputation to
spare, and could hardly avoid feeling aware that the inquirer who
grew in science must inevitably form a higher estimation of the
teacher of whose merits he thus became a better judge.
In May, 1817, the Journal of the Academy was commenced ; and
Mr. SAY continued, during the next ten years, to be one of its stea-
diest and most laborious contributors.
In the autumn of that year an expedition to Florida was organized,
for the purpose of procuring objects of natural history. The party
consisted of Messrs. Maclure, Ord, SAY, and Peale, who spent the
winter in that country, and collected a large number of specimens,
with descriptions of many of which they afterwards enriched the
Journal. In 1819 and 1820 the celebrated expedition to the Rocky
THOMAS SAY.
Mountains took place, in which Mr. SAY took a part. His learning,
his patient industry, and the confidence reposed in him by the officers
of the detachment, are visible in every page of the narrative ; and
the very large portion which he contributed to the work is acknow-
ledged by the editor. This embraces the whole of his favorite de-
partment, the invertebral animals, together with a great variety of
additional subjects, to which, from circumstances of various kinds, it
was convenient that Mr. SAY should direct his attention. In the
expedition to the sources of St. Peter's River, &c., performed in
1823, at least equal labor, in proportion to the time employed, was
bestowed by him upon the collection of materials, although a portion
of the preparation for the press was saved him by his friend, W. H.
Keating, Esq., the editor.
During the period of our narrative, compliments from abroad came
thick upon him ; on these, however, he set but a limited value, ex-
cept where they were the means of extending or increasing a know-
ledge of natural history. His correspondence with distinguished
foreign naturalists occupied a large portion of his time, although
constantly confined to matters of science.
In the year 1825, on the foundation of the well-known settlement
made by the suggestion of Mr. Robert Owen at New Harmony,
Indiana, Mr. SAY removed to that place, at the request of his friend,
William Maclure, Esq., for the purpose of assisting with others in
the erection of a school of natural science. By the munificence of
the distinguished individual last named, he enjoyed, in the wilds of
the far west, all the advantages of a splendid library, abundant fa-
cilities for making collections, and a ready printing press. The
scientific world is in possession of two volumes, the second and
third of his splendid American Entomology, and six numbers of
his Conchology ; all which were among the fruits of his industry
while at New Harmony. The volumes of the Entomology were
published in Philadelphia, the others in Indiana.
It was while at New Harmony that Mr. SAY'S domestic happiness
was enhanced by his union with Miss Lucy W. Sistare, of New-
York, a lady in every way qualified to add to the felicity of such a
man. In addition to many elegant accomplishments, Miss Sistare
possessed the advantage of a fondness for the same pursuits, and
great readiness and neatness with the pencil — a talent which was
employed to the advantage of the beautiful works of which we have
just spoken.
Besides the elaborate description of a number of natural objects
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
collected at New Harmony, and also in Mexico during the tours in
that country made by Mr. Maclure, Mr. SAY found himself, at this
late period of life, again involved in the cares of business and the
superintendence of property. Amid the chaos of mind which the
settlement presented, Mr. Maclure felt the value and necessity of old
and tried friendship, tested honor, and untiring industry, in the care
of his vast estates. In none could he confide with more unhesitat-
ing promptitude than in the subject of our memoir ; and he who
in early youth had sacrificed his own property to the pursuit of
science, was willing, in maturer age, to devote his talents to the care
of that of his friend ; thus proving, like the Ionian philosopher, that
his neglect of pecuniary affairs had not arisen from want of ability,
but from disinclination.
Amid these accumulating tasks and this honorable charge, the
termination of his labors was now gradually approaching. The
season was one of unusual mortality, and the ordinary and general
causes of disease could only cooperate with the severe and devoted
application of the naturalist. Mr. SAY'S habits of steady and pro-
tracted application, excessive abstinence and loss of sleep, had long
before this period exerted an injurious influence upon his health, ex-
hibiting their effects in repeated attacks of fever and dysentery ; and
when, in 1833, he paid a short visit to his friends in Philadelphia,
for the conjoined objects of health and science, the ravages of dis-
ease were but too visible. Still, those who knew him were not con-
scious that it was then for the last time that he visited his native
city or the walls of his beloved academy. After several renewals of
disease, the same maladies returned with a highly nervous character ;
and finally, on the 10th of September, he sunk into the arms of death
by an easy dissolution.
Thus perished, while yet in the vigor of his years, an individual on
whom creative wisdom appeared to have stamped in the strongest man-
ner the characters of a master mind in the study of the works of God.
The character of Mr. SAY was in every way singularly fitted for
the task which he thus made the business of his life. He was gifted
with a strong intellect, accurate powers of observation, vast assiduity,
a freedom from those unsettled wanderings of the mind which are
so frequently the bane of genius, and an enthusiastic attachment to
the subject of his studies. In philosophy, he was an advocate for
that doctrine which attached exclusive importance to the evidence
of the senses. Fact alone was the object which he thought worthy
of his researches. Such was the ardor of his perseverance, that for
THOMAS SAY.
a long period he actually lived at the Academy, sleeping within the
walls, and only leaving the institution when necessary to obtain his
meals. The hours of refreshment were forgotten, and sleep unhesi-
tatingly sacrificed, not as an occasional exertion, but as a permanent
and persevering habit. His extraordinary power of concentrating
his industry had an effect in producing the peculiar style of his
pieces. The manner of writing in which he most delighted, was
that of the utmost abridgment of which the subject was capable,
cutting off every unnecessary word. It was not that he was incapa-
ble of a fluent style, for various parts of his writings demonstrate the
contrary, such as some of his contributions to the narrative of the
Expedition to the Rocky Mountains ; but he seemed to think it an
injustice to the reader and to science to detain them from knowledge
with the smallest redundancy of language. At the same time this
severe judge was far from criticising others with the same rigor
which he exercised towards himself, and readily forgave the luxu-
riance of style in their works. His own manner, when he indulged
in his beloved brevity, was certainly liable to the objection of diffi-
culty to untutored readers ; but still more, perhaps, to the risk of
alarming students by its apparent obscurity, than to the reality, as
the knowledge which was requisite was always actually present,
though comprised in few words. It is unnecessary to add, that the
naturalists are not a few to whom this abridged style is a recommen-
dation.
The communications of Mr. SAY to natural science are numerous
and of considerable bulk ; and their number has probably surprised
even some of his acquaintance. They are scattered through a variety
of publications, not all devoted to natural history, and one of these even
a newspaper ; the student finds it impossible, without considerable
exertion, to avoid overlooking some of them, and it is too much to
be feared that individual memoirs are irrecoverably lost. No esti-
mate of their value, and the labor necessary to produce them, can,
however, be founded on their simple bulk ; nor can they be com-
pared to others upon such a principle. If we take into view the ex-
treme labor which he uniformly bestowed upon his productions,
first to insure their accuracy, and then to compress them within the
smallest possible space, the amount of work executed by this inde-
fatigable writer will appear enormously augmented.
But it is not by the rules of arithmetic that the labors of Mr. SAY
are to be judged in any respect. To form a just idea of the space in
public utility occupied by him, it would be desirable, if possible, to
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
make an estimate of the vacuities which existed in American science,
of the judgment which he formed of them, and of the success of his
endeavors to fill them. This task we shall not attempt to execute.
It was in the immense range of the invertebrals that Mr. SAY ex-
hausted his labor.
And among these it may be said, as of a former writer, that he left
scarce any department untouched, and none that he touched unim-
proved. His descriptions of species are most numerous among the
annuloseand the molluscous animals, although he also made investiga-
tions among the radiated, as appears from the list of his publications,
and among the entozoary. It is not to be supposed that he exhausted
any of these departments : the stores of nature within our country are
too extensive, and much, doubtless, remains for future observers. Yet
he described the large and laborious numbers which serve for the gene-
ral materials of classification ; he outlined the extended and accurate
map, to which the task of making local additions is easy, but which
forms the necessary and only guide to those who would make further
admeasurements. It is not that there is no more gold in the mine ;
but in raising his own ore, Mr. SAY has constructed the shafts and
galleries, pointed out the veins, and indicated by his example the
best manner of working them. He laid down the broad masses of
coloring, which, however they may be augmented and retouched
by the persevering pencil of the future artist, must still form the
basis, and in very numerous cases, the perfection of the picture.
Every familiar object in these departments, that frequently met the
eye, but produced a feeling of dissatisfaction because no description
or place for it was to be found in the writers on natural history, re-
ceived its character from his hands. His task was that of Adam, to
name the animals as they passed before him.
His modesty at first induced him to attempt few and isolated
species, and departments of small extent ; and as time gave him ex-
perience of his powers, he ventured farther. A few scattered insects
and shells, ascertained to be undescribed, with great labor and pre-
caution first received their characters and names from him. Next
he undertook the Crustacea of the United States, which he described
and classified. He then extended his labor to a larger number of
shells, selecting those of the land and of the fresh waters. Next,
after despatching several detached and limited groups, he entered
amono- the vast masses of the Insect Kingdom. In this immense
a <~J
field he described a very large number of species, belonging to nearly
all its departments. Perhaps, even here we may discover a new
THOMAS SAY.
illustration of the character of the man ; and a dislike of show may
not improbably have been among the reasons which induced him to
postpone his attention to the brilliant and popular department of
butterflies and moths. Our naturalist had now achieved so much
of his task that he could afford to be desultory ; and his pieces from
this period assume a more diversified character. His share in the
two expeditions by Major Long, is truly multifarious. Besides the
departments which he considered peculiarly his own, it embraces, as
we have already had occasion to observe, a very large amount of
matter foreign to his ordinary habits of study, and requiring a dif-
ferent manner of composition. Some of the most interesting portions
are those which describe the manners of the Indians. He is the his-
torian of all the facts that were collected in those districts which he
traversed with a small detachment of troops under his separate com-
mand ; he obtained, although not professing philology, the vocabu-
lary of the Killisteno language ; and on the expedition to the sources
of St. Peter's River, he made the whole of the botanical collections,
which afterwards formed the basis of a memoir appended to the pub-
lished narrative by the late Mr. De Schweinitz. In fossil zoology,
his description of new species of the Crinoidea is considered highly
valuable. Several other memoirs in this department, in which Ame-
rica until lately presented such a mass of unknown objects, will be
found in the catalogue of his papers. Several of Mr. SAY'S papers
appear, however elaborate, to have been at first but little known to
naturalists ; it appearing to have been his first object in many in-
stances to procure a public record of his papers in print, so as to
establish his claims to the date of his discoveries, while at the same
time he obtained duplicates to transmit to his learned correspondents ;
leaving it to subsequent times to republish them, and thus secure
their wider diffusion and more easy access.
His natural temper was one of the most amiable ever met with.
The phrase was frequent in the mouths of his intimates, that, " it was
impossible to quarrel with him." His great respect for his parents,
and his compliance with their wishes, have been already mentioned.
He was repaid, notwithstanding his retired life and exclusive devo-
tion to science, by a singular strength of attachment on the part of
his friends ; and we have already spoken of the confidence of Mr.
Maclure. His modesty was so retiring, and the wish which he fre-
quently expressed " to save trouble " to others so great, that to men
in the habit of living much in the world they might perhaps appear
incredible. The contrast of these with surrounding manners, was
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occasionally so remarkable as almost to amount to eccentricity and
a satire on the times.
It may be interesting to add, that he was tall and spare, but mus-
cular, and apparently endowed, before his health was injured by re-
peated illness, with'considerable strength. This enabled him better
to struggle with the fatigues of toilsome journeys and the wasting
inactivity of study. His complexion was dark, with black hair.
Mr. SAY will always be remembered by those who pursue the
study of Zoology as one of the greatest American naturalists ; while,
at the same time, his fame will be cherished in his native city as one
of the most efficient founders and supporters of his favorite academy,
and one of the individuals who have contributed most to diffuse a
taste for these sciences among the American youth.
10 C.
THENEWYORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTO*, LtNOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATION*.
JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
JOSEPH TRUMBULL, the ancestor of the Trumbull family, came, as
is understood, from Cumberland County, England, to Ipswich, in
Massachusetts, in the year 1640. His son, John, removed to Suffield,
Hartford County, Connecticut, which was then within the jurisdic-
tion of Massachusetts. He had three sons, John, Joseph, and
Benoni. Their descendants have been distinguished in the civil, po-
litical, and literary history of the State. John Trumbull, the cele-
brated author of McFingal and other poems, was the son of John,
who was a distinguished clergyman at Waterbury. The Reverend
Benjamin Trumbull, D. D., the historian, was the son of Benoni,
who was a clergyman at Hebron. JONATHAN TRUMBULL was the
son of Joseph, who settled at Lebanon as a merchant, where the sub-
ject of this memoir was born, on the 10th of June, (O. S.) 1710.
He entered Harvard College in 1724, and graduated with honor
in [727. He immediately commenced the study of Theology with
the Rev. Solomon Williams of Lebanon. In due time he was li-
censed to preach, and soon after was invited to settle in the ministry
at Colchester, in his native State. While deliberating upon the sub-
ject, a family affliction turned the current of his life into another
channel. An elder brother, who was engaged in business with his
father, had sailed on a voyage to London, in June 1732, and was never
more heard of. For a long time a forlorn hope was entertained that
the vessel had been captured by the Algerines ; but, distressing as even
that hope was, time proved it to be fallacious. The loss of this son,
with the vessel and cargo, which wholly belonged to them, was se-
verely felt by the aged father, who found himself unfitted to settle up
his mercantile concerns without the assistance of his surviving son,
who, at the urgent request of his father, with great reluctance de-
clined the call of the church at Colchester.
In closing up the affairs of his brother, JONATHAN TRUMBULL
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
gradually commenced business for himself, and was, for many years,
a merchant in his native town. He imported his goods direct from
London, and by his fair and upright dealing secured the respect and
confidence of the public.
At the age of twenty-three he was elected a member of the Gene-
ral Assembly of the Colony. Here a new scene opened before him.
His talents for public business were soon perceived and acknow-
ledged, and he rose rapidly in the estimation of the freemen of the
Colony. He was soon chosen speaker of the House, and shortly af-
terward a member of the Council. In 1766 he was elected Lieute-
nant-Governor of the Colony, and, by virtue of that office, Chief
Judge of the Superior Court. He continued in that office until 1768.
Pitkin, the Governor of the Colony, being advanced in life, was cau-
tious in his proceedings upon the absorbing subjects which then agi-
tated the public mind. The right claimed by the British Parliament
of taxing the Colonies at their pleasure, and the passage of the Stamp
Act, caused great excitement. Governor Pitkin, and several of the
council, took the oath enjoined by the British Government on that
occasion ; but the Lieutenant-Governor absolutely refused to take it
himself, or to be present when it was administered to others.
In resistance to the arbitrary acts of Parliament, no person in the
Colony was more active, ardent, or energetic, than Lieutenant-Go-
vernor TRUMBULL.
In 1769 he was chosen by the people Governor of the Colony, as
one on whom, in times of danger and trouble, they could safely rely ;
and he fulfilled their expectations to the end of his career. He de-
cided in council, by his casting vote, to resist, by force of arms, the
encroachments of Great Britain against the liberties of the Colony.
This was an act of fearful responsibility, considering the power of
the nation to be resisted and the means of defence ; and it may here
be remarked, that he was the only Colonial Governor, at the com-
mencement of the Revolution, who espoused the cause of the people.
During the whole controversy he remained steadfast in the cause ;
and he was the only Governor of a State who held his station through
the war. He was not only considered the leader of the Whigs in his
own State, but throughout New England. His firmness in danger ;
his persevering spirit in the most gloomy period ; his ardor, patriot-
ism, and zeal in his country's cause ; endeared him to all lovers of
their country. As a politician, his views were clear, correct, and
open ; and the soundness and sagacity of his opinions and judgment
were proved by the happy results which followed his undeviating
JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
course. As he never paused in the performance of his duty, so he
never despaired of the triumph of his countrymen.
The immense business he transacted, and the manner in which it
was done, proved his diligence, ability, and fidelity. During the
whole war of the Revolution a council of safety sat with him, except
during the sessions of the General Assembly : at all other times he
and his council were the Executive of the State. In addition to his
duties as Governor, and his attendance with the Legislature, (at least
three times a year.) he sat in council during the war more than one
thousand days. His correspondence with the Governors of the other
States, and with the Commander-in-chief and other officers of the
army, was very extensive. He promptly complied with the requisi-
tions of General Washington for supplies, to the extent of his ability,
or the power of the State : and it is a fact not generally known, that
Connecticut furnished the United States with more troops and sup-
plies than any other State in the Union, except Massachusetts. In
addition to the contributions of Connecticut to the forces of the Union,
her own sons defended their soil themselves. It is believed the
United States never furnished a regiment for her protection, or to
repel an invading enemy, and yet the enemy never rested a single
niofht in the State undisturbed.
O
The foreign correspondence of Governor TRUMBULL was not only
extensive, but of great importance to the country, and should be pub-
lished ; as we are confident, from what we have seen of it, that it
would not only be highly interesting, but that it would reflect a light
upon the history of the time, untinged by personal or partizan preju-
dices, and confirm the claims of the venerable Governor to a place in
the first rank of American patriots. A few extracts from his domestic
and foreign correspondence will illustrate its character.
Letter from Governor TRUMBULL to Governor Gage.
"Hartford, April 28th, 1775.
" SIR,
"The alarming situation of public affairs in this country, and the late unfortunate transac-
tions in the province of the Massachusetts Bay, have induced the General Assembly of this
Colony, now sitting in this place, to appoint a committee of their body to wait upon your
Excellency, and to desire me, in their name, to write to you relative to these very interesting
matters.
" The inhabitants of this Colony are intimately connected with the people of your province,
and esteem themselves bound, by the strongest ties of friendship as well as of common in-
terest, to regard with attention whatever concerns them. You will not therefore be surprised
that your first arrival at Boston with a body of his Majesty's troops, for the declared purpose
of carrying into execution certain acts of Parliament, which in their apprehension were un-
constitutional and oppressive, should have given the good people of this Colony a very just
and general alarm. Your subsequent proceedings, in fortifying the town of Boston, and
3
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other military preparations, greatly increased their apprehensions for the safety of their friends
and brethren ; they could not be unconcerned spectators of their sufferings, in (hat which is
esteemed the common cause of this country : but the late hostile and secret inroads of some
of the troops under your command into the heart of the country, and the violences they have
committed, have driven them almost into a state of desperation. They feel now, not only for
their friends, but for themselves, and for their dearest interests and connexions. We wish
not to exaggerate, we are not sure of every part of our information ; but by the best intelli-
gence that we have yet been able to obtain, the late transaction was a most unprovoked
attack upon the lives and property of his Majesty's subjects, and it is represented to us
that such outrages have been committed as would disgrace even barbarians, and much more
Britons, so highly famed for humanity as well as bravery. It is feared, therefore, that we
are devoted to destruction, and that you have it in command and intention to ravage and
desolate the country. If this is not the case, permit us to ask, why have these outrages been
committed ? Why is the town of Boston now shut up? To what end are all the hostile
preparations that are daily making? And why do we continually hear of fresh destinations
of troops for this country ? The people of the Colony, you may rely upon it, abhor the idea
of taking arms against the troops of their sovereign, and dread nothing so much as the hor-
rors of civil war. But, at the same time, we beg leave to assure your Excellency, that as
they apprehend themselves justified by the principle of self-defence, so they are most firmly
resolved to defend their rights and privileges to the last extremity ; nor will they be restrained
from giving aid to their brethren if any unjustifiable attack is made upon them. Be so good,
therefore, as to explain yourself upon this most important subject, as far as is consistent with
your duty to our common sovereign. Is there no way to prevent this unhappy dispute from
coming to extremities? Is there no alternative but absolute submission, or the desolations
of war? By that humanity which constitutes so amiable a part of your character, for the
honor of our sovereign, and by the glory of the British empire, we entreat you to prevent it,
if it be possible. Surely it is to be hoped that the temperate wisdom of the empire might
even yet find expedients to restore peace, that so all parts of the empire may enjoy their par-
ticular rights, honors, and immunities. Certainly this is an event most devoutly to be wished
for. And will it not be consistent with your duty to suspend the operations of war on your
part, and enable us on ours to quiet the minds of the people, at least till the result of some
further deliberations may be known ? The importance of the occasion will, we doubt not,
sufficiently apologize for the earnestness with which we address you, and any seeming im-
propriety which may attend it, as well as induce you to give us the most explicit, and favor-
able answer in your power.
" I am, with great esteem and respect,
"in behalf of the General Assembly,
" Sir, Your most obedient, humble servant,
"JONATHAN TRUMBULL."
Letter from Governor TRUMBULL to the Baron Van De Capellan of Holland;
" Lebanon, 27th June, 1777.
" The cause of Liberty is not peculiar to one free State — it is a common cause ; the de-
struction of one cannot be indifferent to the few other free States, which God, in his Pro-
vidence, hath preserved from being swallowed up by tyranny. It was with the greatest
pleasure we were informed that the States of Holland refused to lend their troops to Great
Britain, to be used in extending the dominion of tyranny over these States, and effacing al-
most the only traces of liberty which remain in one quarter of the globe ; I cannot suf-
ficiently express the gratitude we feel for the generous part, you, Sir, was pleased to take in
that matter, worthy of a senator of a free State, and a candid and impartial friend of li-
berty and humanity.'
" In the United States of America you will be revered. We are now reduced to the ne-
t
JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
cessity of defending, by force, against the power of a renowned and mighty empire, our
ancient and indubitable rights, immunities, and privileges, founded upon national liberty,
confirmed by Royal charters, of the predecessors of the (present) King of Great Britain ;
approved and recognized by successive Parliaments ; and enjoyed, from the first settlement
of these States, to the present day. The present reign opened with a deliberate system
and digested plan to reduce these States to the most abject dependence and vassalage. By
our ancient charters, by the most solemn contracts with our kings, we were to have, and en-
joy, all the liberties, privileges, and immunities of free and natural born subjects of the
realm of England ; of these privileges, that which fixes private property, and exempts the
subject from taxation but by his own consent, has been always justly reputed the chief, the
loss of which involves in it, or draws after it, the loss of all the rest ; this v/as first attacked."
After ffivino; a statement of the rise, origin, and cause of the con-
o O ' o '
test between the Colonies and the Mother country, their petitions and
causes of complaints, &c. (which, from its length, cannot be inserted
in this article,) he says :
"To many, the views of the British cabinet had been long apparent ; most people, how-
ever, had flattered themselves the nation would not suffer the Court to take away their
privileges by force; and that at length they would be confirmed ; but now, it is become evi-
dent to all, that the design to strip them of their privileges, and lay their lives and property
at the mercy of a haughty and unfeeling ministry and a venal Parliament, was fixed and
determined ; and that no step tending to that end would be deemed inexpedient or unjust, if
practicable. On the 19th day of April, 1775, the scene of blood was opened by the British
troops, by the unprovoked slaughter of the Provincial troops at Lexington and Concord.
.The adjacent Colonies took up arms in their own defence; the Congress again met, again
petitioned the Throne for peace and settlement ; and again their petitions were contemptu-
ously disregarded. When every glimpse of hope failed, not only of justice but of safety,
\ve were compelled, by the last necessity, to appeal to Heaven, and rest the defence of our
liberties and privileges upon the favor and protection of Divine Providence ; and the resist-
ance we could make by opposing force to force. Although the war was begun on our part,
under the greatest disadvantages, without any preparation of arms, artillery, military stores,
magazines of provisions, or other necessaries, which proves to demonstration that the war
did not proceed from any ambitious, premeditated plan on our part ; yet Heaven has so
smiled upon us hitherto, that we have been able to maintain ourselves and make head
against our enemies. And, although all Europe has resounded with ostentatious accounts of
their victories and success, it is nevertheless true that they have not yet been able to maintain
themselves in any post where they were not protected by their navy ; or where, if attacked,
they could not immediately retire on board their transports. And we have yet good hopes
and a fair prospect, with the smiles of Heaven, of making a good defence, and vindicating
our liberty against the unjust attempts of power to deprive us of it. From our brethren
in Great Britain we have not experienced their boasted candor, impartiality, and clemency.
We appeal from their injustice to the Supreme Governor and Judge, and to the candid
censure of the impartial world. In you, Sir, and in your wise and generous sentiments, we
find that justice, the sincerity of our intention and rectitude of our measures entitle us to
hope for. We may justly flatter ourselves that no free State will so far forget what is due to
their own glory and interest, as to lend their aid to exterminate liberty, (even) from the
wilds of America; might they not rather be expected to assist in preserving what liberty-
yet remains upon earth from falling a sacrifice to the encroachments and avidity of
Tyrants— lest Liberty itself should be banished or forced from amongst men, and universal
tyranny, with its attendant calamities and miseries, overwhelm the whole human race? But
s
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I desist ; it is not my intention to send you a history. I would only thank you for your fa-
vorable sentiments of us, and request a continuance of your good offices as far as we shall
appear to you to deserve them."
The Baron's answer was received, dated Zwoll, 7th Dec. 1779,
written in Dutch — some few extracts are here inserted : —
"To be the object of public esteem of a people, worthy and virtuous as the brave Ameri-
cans, is a thing so great, that all the credit of your name, (as also of Mr. Erkelaus,) could
not persuade me that I have merited the smallest part of the gratitude which you please to
testify (on their part) for the small services I have tried to render them.
"It is true, Sir, I have engaged, since the year 1775, in the good cause of your com-
patriots, with that zeal as the love of liberty inspired me, for such as dare to defend it,
against the horrors of all sorts of oppression; but after all, what I have done, is nothing
but an act of pure justice. By my birth I am a member of the nobles of my Province, and
am called in the Assembly of the States, not States General, (as is believed in your coun-
try,) but of the Province of Overysell. I should have thought myself responsible for the
innocent blood which has been shed in your country, if I had permitted such things without
opposition, &.c. One other cause of the mistrust of the Americans' credit is, the false
news which the English continue to make concurrent, which the friends of America cannot
contradict, by want of information ; it would be of the last importance to enable them, by
authentic information, and which contains nothing that is not exact and true. If you would
choose, Sir, to honor me with such a correspondence, be persuaded I will make a very good
use of it. Communicate news as in confidence, and it will have more effect. Your letters,
which I have communicated to others in Amsterdam, (however, with discretion, and with-
out giving copies as yet,) have made a deep impression on all who have read them ; all
regretted that such a true and energetic defence of the cause of United America should be
buried in the portfolio of a private correspondence. A description of the present state of
United America, the forms of Governments in the different Republics, of the facilities
with which strangers can establish themselves there, and find subsistence, the price of
lands, &c., with a history of the present war and the cruelties committed by the English,
would do wonders in a land where we don't know America even by the newspapers ; and
where there is, in the mean time, a very great number of honest people, who — - but
I would here very near forget to be a Hollander. Continue to write me in English. Yes,
Sir, I long to make our epistolary correspondence to be a basis of friendship, which, founded
on our mutual attachment to the liberty of the human race, would become the most solid.
I'll try to merit the same so much, that I beg you to believe that I am, with all respect due
to your virtue, your talents, and your character,
" Sir, I am,
(Signed.) "JOHAN. THEODORE VAN DE CAPELLAN."
The correspondence continued till the Governor's death.
In 1780 the General Assembly of Connecticut passed an act to
authorize a loan abroad. The confidence which the firm and open
character of his correspondence had inspired now came into use for
the country. The Governor took great interest in effecting this loan,
that the finances of the State might be placed upon a sure footing.
The following letter to his son, Colonel John Trumbull, who was
then in Europe, will give his own views on the subject : —
JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
"Lebanon, 30th Dec. 1730.
"DEAR SON,
" The General Assembly of this State have passed an act to obtain a loan from Holland
or elsewhere, to the amount of £200,000, on terms which the enclosed act will show you.
This will go under cover to Messrs. Neufville & Son, in Amsterdam, to whom I refer you,
among others, for their assistance and council. As our prospects principally centre in Holland,
I can wish this letter may find you there, and that you will pay your first and most assidu-
ous attention to that quarter. Give me the earliest information of the way and probable ex-
pense of getting the money in specie here, and of whatever else you may judge needful for me
to be advised. This (loan) is not sought on the principles of despair, but to put our finances
on a better footing ; the spirit of the country remains firm and steady ; men for three years,
or during the war, will fill and complete the army : I hope to get the finances (of our State)
upon a sure and good footing.
"I am, my dear Son,
"Your ever afT-ctionate Father,
"JONATHAN TRUMBULL."
The services of Governor TRUMBULL, throughout the war, were
of very great importance, not merely to Connecticut, but to the United
States. " General Washington relied on him as one of his main pil-
lars of support," says Mr. Sparks, in a note to one of Washington's
letters ; and, indeed, the numerous letters of the General to the Go-
vernor, which have been published, are full of evidence of the cor-
rectness of the remark.
In October, 1783, Governor TRUMBULL declined any further
election to public office. " A few days," said he, in his address to the
General Assembly, "will bring me to the anniversary of my birth ;
seventy-three years of my life will then be completed ; and next
May, fifty-one years will have passed since I was first honored with
the confidence of the people in a public character. During this pe-
riod, in different capacities, it has been my lot to be called to public
service almost without interruption. Fourteen years I have had the
honor to fill the chief seat of Government. With what carefulness,
with what zeal and attention to your welfare, I have discharged the
duties of my several stations, some few of you, of equal age with
myself, can witness for me from the beginning. During the latter
period, none of you are ignorant of the manner in which my public
life has been occupied ! The watchful cares and solicitude of an
eight years' distressing and unusual war have also fallen to my
share, and have employed many anxious moments of my latest time ;
which have been cheerfully devoted to the welfare of my country.
Happy am I to find that all these cares, anxieties, and solicitudes are
amply compensated by the noble prospect which now opens to my
fellow-citizens, of a happy establishment (if we are but wise to im-
prove the precious opportunity) in peace, tranquillity, and national
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
independence. With sincere and lively gratitude to Almighty God,
our great protector and deliverer, and most hearty congratulations to
all our citizens, I felicitate you, Gentlemen, the other freemen, and all
the good people of the State, in this glorious prospect.
" Impressed with these sentiments of gratitude and felicitation,
reviewing the long course of years in which, through various events,
I have had the pleasure to serve the State ; contemplating, with
pleasing wonder and satisfaction, at the close of an arduous contest, the
noble and enlarged scenes which now present themselves to my coun-
try's view ; and reflecting, at the same time, on my advanced stage of
life — a life worn out almost in the constant cares of office — I think it
my duty to retire from the busy concerns of public affairs : that at
the evening of my days I may sweeten their decline by devoting
myself with less avocation and more attention to the duties of reli-
gion, the service of my God, and preparation for a future and hap-
pier state of existence ; in which pleasing employment I shall not
cease to remember my country, and to make it my ardent prayer that
Heaven will not fail to bless her with her choicest favors.
" At this conspicuous moment, therefore, of my country's happi-
ness, when she has just reached the goal of her wishes, and obtained
the object for which she has so long contended, and so nobly strug-
gled, I have to request the favor from you, Gentlemen, and through
you, from all the freemen of the State, that, after May next. I may be
excused from any further service in public life ; and that from this
time I may be no longer considered as an object of your suffrages for
any public employment in the State."
After thanking the Assembly for the aid which they had always
afforded him in the discharge of his duties, the Governor availed
himself of his experience, and rendered his last address "an advisory
legacy " to his constituents. It is a patriarchal document, worthy of
the admiration of the lovers of their country ; and as such we com-
mend it to the sons of Connecticut, that it may be rescued from
oblivion, and have its place amongst the wise and patriotic counsel of
the Fathers of the Commonwealth.
Governor TRUMBULL did not long survive to enjoy the tranquillity
of private life. He was seized with a malignant fever, and, after a
few days' illness, died on the 17th of August 1785.
The subject of this brief sketch was a remarkable man, even
amongst the prominent men of his time. Educated for the ministry,
and his career changed by unexpected events to the discharge of the
highest civil duties of the State, there was a combination of religion
JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
and worldly wisdom in all his actions, and which may be traced in
his correspondence. Even his manners were characterized by the
same traits, and won the admiration and regard of those who were
familiar with Courts and courtiers, as well as of his own unsophisti-
cated countrymen.
He was an indefatigable student ; and notwithstanding his weighty
responsibilities and official cares, he found time to " search the
Scriptures " in the original languages ; kept up his acquaintance
with ancient and modern history: and did more than any other
person of his day to preserve the knowledge of the early history of
his own country. He retained the costume of the early part of the
eighteenth century, and the primitive habits of his fathers ; he was
grave, and serious, and mild in his discourse, but firm and resolute
in action. He took time to deliberate on all subjects, and expressed
his opinions forcibly and with decision.
The following1 letter, addresssed to the venerable Governor's son,
O ' '
(who was afterward Governor,) will be read with attention and
respect ; and, in addition to what we have already stated, will, we
believe, furnish a sufficient answer to the numerous inquiries we
have received, why we have selected a subject about whom so little
is generally known : —
"Mount Vernon, Oct. 1st, 1785.
"Mr DEAR SIR,
" It has so happened that your letter of the 1st of last month, did not reach me until Sa-
turday's post.
" You know too well the sincere respect and regard I entertained for your venerable
father's public and private character, to require assurance of the concern I felt for his death ;
or of that sympathy in your feelings for the loss of him, which is prompted by friendship.
Under this loss, however, great as your pangs may have been at the first shock, you have
every thing to console you.
" Jl long and well-spent life in the service of his country, places GOVERNOR TRUMBULL
among Ike first of patriots. In the social duties he yielded to no one; and his lamp, from
the common course of nature being nearly extinguished, worn down with age and cares,
but retaining his mental faculties in perfection, are blessings which rarely attend advanced
life. All these combined, have secured to his memory unusual respect and love here, and,
no doubt, unmeasurable happiness hereafter.
"I am sensible that none of these observations can have escaped you, that I can offer
nothing which your own reason has not already suggested upon the occasion ; and being of
Sterne's opinion, that " before an affliction is digested, consolation comes too soon, and after
it is digested it comes too late, there is but a mark between these two, almost as fine as a
hair, for a comforter to take aim at," I rarely attempt it ; nor should I add more on this sub-
ject to you, as it will be a renewal of sorrow, by calling afresh to your remembrance things
that had better be forgotton.
" My principal pursuits are of a rural nature, in which I have great delight, especially as
I am blessed with the enjoyment of good health. Mrs. Washington, on the contrary, is
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hardly ever well ; but, thankful for your kind remembrance of her, joins me in every good
wish for you, Mrs. Trumbull, and your family.
"Be assured, that with sentiments of the purest esteem and regard, I am,
"Dear Sir, your affectionate friend,
"And obedient servant,
" GEO. WASHINGTON."
10
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
A8TOR, LENOX AND
TILDSM FOUNDATIONS,
A
MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS.
Mrs. ABIGAIL ADAMS, wife of John Adams, second President of the
United States, was one of three daughters of William Smith, minister
of a Congregational church at Weymouth in the Colony of Massa-
chusetts Bay ; and of Elizabeth Quincy, a daughter of Colonel John
Quincy, the proprietor of Mount Wollaston. This spot, situated on
the sea-shore in the Bay of Boston, about seven miles south-east of
that city, was the seat of a settlement by Thomas Wollaston and
thirty of his associates in 1625, five years before that of the Massa-
chusetts Colony. Wollaston abandoned his settlement the next year,
and left part of his men under the command of Thomas Morton.
The settlement itself was broken up by Governor Winthrop in the
Summer of 1630, shortly after the landing of his Colony. Mount
Wollaston was in 1634 made part of Boston, and the land was
granted to William Coddington. He soon after sold it to William
Ting, one of the principal merchants of Boston, and one of the four
first representatives of the town in the General Court. Ting had
four daughters, between whom, after his decease, his inheritance was
divided. One of those daughters married Thomas Shepard, the cele-
brated minister of Charlestown ; and in the distribution of the estates,
the farm at Mount Wollaston was assigned to her. Her daughter,
Anna, married Daniel Quincy, son of the second Edmund Quincy,
and was the mother of Colonel John Quincy. Mrs. Anna Shepard
survived her son-in-law, and at her decease bequeathed the estate at
Mount Wollaston to his son John Quincy, then a student at Harvard
College. In 1716 he married Elizabeth Norton, daughter of John
Norton, minister of the first Congregational church at Hingham, a town
distant about six miles south-east of Mount Wollaston. Elizabeth
Quincy was the eldest daughter of this marriage, and in 1742 became
the wife of William Smith.
Abigail Smith, second daughter of William and Elizabeth Smith,
was born on the il of November, the day dedicated in the Roman
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calendar to Saint Cecilia, 1774. Her father, grandfather, and great
grandfather, had all been educated at Harvard College. The Shep-
ards and the Nortons are commemorated among the most learned and
talented of the clergymen who held so conspicuous a place in the
primitive settlement of New England. Thomas Shepard, the father
of him who married Anna Ting, is known from the Magnalia of
O ' o
Cotton Mather as one of the shining lights of the Reformation. His
son was scarcely less distinguished, but died in the prime of life.
That they are yet held in affectionate remembrance, is in evidence
from the very recent fact, that a church adhering to the primitive
Puritan doctrines, at Cambridge, has assumed and bears their name.
John Norton, the minister of Hingham, was a nephew of his name-
sake, illustrious in the history of the Massachusetts Colony, and was
himself many years eminent among the pastoral teachers of his age
and country. The maternal grandfather of Abigail Smith, John
Quincy, had been graduated at Harvard College in 1708. Her father,
William Smith, in 1725. From this line of ancestry, it may justly
be inferred that the family associations of Abigail Smith were from
her infancy among those whose habits, feelings, and tastes are marked
by the love and cultivation of literature and learning. The only
learned profession in the first century of the settlement of New Eng-
land was that of the clergy. The law formed no distinct profession,
and the lawyers were little esteemed. Science was scarcely better
cultivated by the practitioners of the medical art ; but religion was
esteemed among the most important of worldly concerns, and the
controversial spirit with which it was taught, and which was at once
the cause and effect of the Protestant reformation, stimulated the thirst
for learning, and sharpened the appetite for the studies by which it
is acquired.
The importance of learning and of literature to the cause of reli-
gion, and the entire dependence of practical morals upon religions
principle, were so well understood by the first founders of New Eng-
land, that the settlers of the Massachusetts Colony had scarcely
thrown up sheds and piled log-houses to shelter their bodies from the
storm, before their thoughts turned to the erection of the edifice which
should serve them and their children for the habitation of the mind.
In 1634 they made an appropriation for a school at Newtown, and
in 1638 John Harvard, himself one of the most distinguished of their
ministers, bequeathed at his decease the sum of £779. 17s. 2d. for the
establishment of a college for the education of ministers of the Gospel.
The bequest was immediately carried into effect. In 1642 the first
MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS.
class was graduated — the town where the college was situated
received the name of Cambridge from that in England, where all the
religious teachers of the Colony had been educated ; and the College
of Harvard, made by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts an university, bears the name of its founder in glory from
age to age down to the extinction of time.
But in providing for the education of learned ministers of the Gos-
pel, the Puritan fathers of New England were not equally solicitous
to cultivate and adorn the minds of their daughters. The education
of women was not neglected, but was generally confined to the
concerns of the household. The women, indeed, mingled in the
religious controversies of the first Colonial age, more perhaps than
was conducive to their own happiness or to the tranquillity of their
relatives ; but the example and the fate of Mrs. Hutchinson and of
her doctrines, appears to have operated rather as a warning than as
an example to the women of the succeeding age. For the practice
of the learned professions, women are by their sex as effectually un-
fitted as for fighting battles, holding the plough, felling the forest, or
navigating the ocean.
The education of the daughters of Mr. Smith was in their father's
house, with such advantages as a country clergyman in a village of
New England, towards the middle of the eighteenth century, could
afford. It was about that time that Goldsmith, in his Deserted Village,
and in his Vicar of Wakefield, painted to the life that condition in
human society, and that class of characters formed by it, of which
Mr. Smith and his family might have served as the originals.
On the 25th of October, 1764, in the twentieth year of her age,
Miss Abigail Smith was married to John Adams, then an attorney at
law residing in Braintree, the town adjoining to Weymouth, and
then risins; to great eminence at the bar. He had until then devoted
o o
himself, with the most indefatigable industry, to the studies and the
practice of his profession for about seven years, taking little part in
the politics of the time. The subject of politics, in its most compre-
hensive sense, had, however, furnished a source of profound medita-
tion to his mind for many years before that of his marriage. His
letter of September, 1755, from Worcester to Nathan Webb, has
been called a literary phenomenon. A shorter and far more care-
lessly written letter, in December 1761, is perhaps not less charac-
teristic.
In November 1762, Miss Smith's elder sister, Mary, had been mar-
ried to Richard Cranch, a native of Devonshire in England, who had
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
emigrated to this country in early youth, and was then settled at
Germantown, part of the town of Braintree. In December 1761,
Mr. Adams was upon a visit to Mr. Cranch at his house in German-
town ; Mr. Cranch having an opportunity to enclose a letter which
he had received the day before for Miss Mary Smith, put it under a
cover thus addressed :—
"Miss Polly Smith, Weymouth.
" Germantown, Dec. 30th. 1761
" DEAR Miss POLLY,
" I was at Boston yesterday, and saw your brother, who was well.
I have but a moment's notice of an opportunity of sending to you the
enclosed, which I took at your uncle Edward's.
" I am, with compliments to your family,
" Your affectionate humble servant,
" R. CRANCH."
Under which Mr. Adams wrote as follows : —
"DEAR DITTO,
" Here we are, Dick and Jack, as happy as the wickedness and
folly of this world will allow philosophers. Our good wishes are
poured forth for the felicity of you, your family, and neighbors. My—
I don't know what — to Miss Nabby ; tell her I hear she's about com-
mencing a most loyal subject to young George, and although my al-
legiance has been hitherto inviolate, I shall endeavor all in my
power to foment rebellion.
"J. ADAMS."
To account for the preservation of this cover of a letter, not by the
lady to whom it was addressed, but by her younger sister, then the
loyal subject of young George, it may be necessary to remember that
she was then just turned of seventeen ; that it was shortly after the
accession of George the Third to the throne ; and that nearly three
years after, on the 25th of October, 1 764, she married the instigator
to rebellion.
The year 1765 is memorable in the history of the world, and es-
pecially in that of the United States and that of Great Britain, as the
year in which the British Parliament enacted the Stamp Act. Until
that time Mr. Adams had taken little part in political affairs : his
whole soul had been absorbed in the study and practice of his pro-
MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS.
fession. But from the period of the Stamp Act he devoted himself to
the cause of his country. In August of that year, in the midst of the
violent fermentation occasioned by the resistance of the people to the
execution of the Stamp Act, he published, in a Boston newspaper, the
Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, in which the right of
popular resistance against oppression is laid down as distinctly as in
the Declaration of Independence, and almost in the same terms.
The right and the determination of resistance was formed in the mind
of John Adams from the first appearance of the Stamp Act, and his
partner imbibed his principles, and prepared herself for all the trials
and sacrifices which it was apparent must in such a contest be re-
quired of her. For ten years after their marriage Mr. Adams con-
tinued with increasing reputation in the practice of the law, residing
alternately in the mansion descended to him from his father, and at
Boston. In September, 1774, Mr. Adams was called to attend the
meeting of the first Congress at Philadelphia, That session was
short ; but from the meeting of the second session in May, 1775, it was
not again discontinued till the close of the war of the Revolution, and
during the whole of that time she resided at Braintree, with a family
of infant children, far from the partner of her heart, and exposed with
her family, during a great part of the time, to continual dangers,
scarcely less formidable than those which her husband, far distant
from her, was on his part called to encounter.
The first deadly conflict of the war was in April 1775, at Lexing-
ton. The incident which gave occasion to it was the detachment of
a body of troops from the British army at Boston, sent out to inter-
cept John Hancock and Samuel Adams, then on their way to attend
the meeting of this second Congress. John Adams was not with
them, but had left his home for the same destination several days
before. But his dwelling-house, his wife, and children, were within
a shorter distance from Boston than Lexington or Concord ; and the
same spirit which had instigated the British commander to send a
body of men to seize the persons of two members of the Continental
Congress, might with a much smaller force have visited the dwelling-
house, and destroyed or made prisoners of the family of the third.
For several months this danger was so imminent, that the library, and
all the most valuable furniture of the house, were removed to a dis-
tant part of the town ; nor were they restored till after the British
army had, in April 1776, evacuated Boston.
Soon after the close of this trial, aggravated by an epidemic dysen-
tery, with which, in the Autumn of 1775, Mrs. ADAMS herself and
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
every member of her family were severely afflicted, and to which her
own mother, a brother of her husband, and a young woman living with
her, in the course of two or three weeks fell victims, it was succeeded
by another scarcely less distressing. After the removal of Congress
from Philadelphia to Yorktown, in November, 1777, Mr. Adams made
a short visit to his family, and, while absent, was appointed a joint
Commissioner at the Court of France, with Dr. Benjamin Franklin
and Arthur Lee, in the place of Silas Deane, who was recalled. In
February, 1778, he sailed from Nantasket Roads in the Boston
frigate, Captain Samuel Tucker ; taking with him his eldest son, then
a boy in the eleventh year of his age. It was the most perilous pe-
riod of the war for a passage across the Atlantic. The Boston was
an old brigantine converted into a small frigate of 28 guns, far infe-
rior in force and weight of metal to the sloops of war of our present
navy. While she was preparing for sea in the harbor of Boston,
there was a British squadron anchored at no greater distance than
Newport, Rhode Island, watching her departure ; well informed of
her destination, advised of the fact that a member of Congress was
going out in her as a passenger, and eager in coveting possession
both of the passenger and the ship. France had not then acknow-
ledged the Independence of the United States, nor was it certain
what reception the ship or Commissioner would find in that country.
Mrs. ADAMS would for herself have been prepared to encounter
every hazard with the partner of her life ; but to expose her with three
infant children, the whole family at once, was too much to undertake.
She remained at Braintree, with three of the children.
In February, 1778, France acknowledged the Independence of the
United States, and the treaties of commerce and of eventual alliance
were concluded. Congress soon after determined to have, instead of
three Commissioners at the Court of France, only one Minister Pleni-
potentiary, and the choice fell upon Dr. Franklin. Mr. Lee had an-
other commission as Minister to Spain. Mr. Adams was left without
being recalled, but without appointment to any other mission. He
returned to the United States in August, 1779 ; but it had not been
the intention of Congress to dispense with his further services in
Europe. Soon after his return he received a commission to negotiate
a peace with Great Britain ; and in November, 1779, embarked again
for France, taking with him his two elder sons, John Quincy and
Charles — Mrs. ADAMS again remained with the two other children,
a daughter and the youngest son, till after the conclusion of the
peace. This was followed by a joint commission to Mr. Adams, with
MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS.
Dr. Franklin and Mr. Jefferson, to negotiate treaties of commerce
with any of the European or Barbary Powers ; and to this succeeded
the appointment of Mr. Adams as Minister Plenipotentiary to the
Court of Great Britain.
In May, 1784, Mrs. ADAMS embarked, with her only daughter, at
Boston, to join her husband ; she arrived at London in July. Mr.
Adams was then at the Hague, in the discharge of the office of Mi-
nister Plenipotentiary to the United Netherlands, to which he had been
appointed by Congress after the capture and imprisonment, in the
tower of London, of Henry Latirens. About the same time of Mrs.
ADAMS'S arrival in England, Mr. Jefferson arrived in France, on the
joint mission to negotiate commercial treaties, which negotiation was
to be conducted at Paris. Mr. Adams, therefore, repaired to London
to meet his family, and proceeded with them to Paris. They resided
nearly a year at Auteuil, a village adjoining that of Passi, the resi-
dence of Doctor Franklin, until his final return to the United States,
in 1785. He had, soon after the conclusion of the peace, requested
of Congress permission to return, and to retire from the service of the
Union. In the Spring of 1785 Mr. Jefferson was appointed his suc-
cessor at the Court of France, and Mr. Adams was commissioned as
Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain. He proceeded with his
family to London. There he resided three years, and in the Sum-
mer of 1788, at his own request, received permission to return home.
He arrived at Boston precisely at the time when, by the ratification
of nine States, the Constitution of the United States was received as
the Supreme law of the land.
During her absence in Europe, Mrs. ADAMS had resided one year
in France and three years in England. She had made several ex-
cursions of several days, to visit some of the beautiful scenes and
magnificent country-seats which abound in England ; and before her
return had, in company with her husband, visited the scarcely less
magnificent scenery of the Netherlands. In her own country she had,
from her childhood, been accustomed to view and to admire the
scenery between her native village and Boston, scarcely surpassed for
natural beauty by any object upon earth. In France, in England,
in Holland, she had seen the highest attainments of art and the
most unbounded profusion of wealth lavished to improve and adorn
the simple beauties of nature. In the inspection and enjoyment, of
these beauties she had taken great delight ; and in familiar letters to
her friends in this country had given descriptions of them, exceed-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
ingly interesting to her correspondents, and which, even at this day,
might be read with pleasure by the public.
Her letters to her husband and children, and to friends of her own
sex, during the Revolutionary war, among which Mrs. Mercy War-
ren, sister of James Otis and wife of General James Warren of
Plymouth, deserves to be particularly remembered, have an interest
of a higher character. These ladies, familiar with the Roman histo-
ry, and living in times when the exercise of the virtues of lofty pa-
triotism were as necessary and as useful to the cause of liberty among
the daughters of the land, as among their husbands and their brothers,
corresponded with each other throughout the Revolutionary war-
Mrs. ADAMS assuming the signature of Portia, and Mrs. Warren
that of Mar da ; and no correspondence of the Roman matrons bear-
ing those names ever breathed a purer or more vivid spirit of pa-
triotism. The letters of Mrs. ADAMS to her sons, while they were in
Europe, were read and admired ; and translations of more than one
of them were made and published in some of the periodical journals
of France.
The Government of the United States, under their present Consti-
tution, was organized in April, 1789, and Mr. Adams was elected the
first Vice President of the United States. He held that office during
the eight years of President Washington's administration, and was
elected his immediate successor. The sessions of the first Congress
were held at the city of New York. In 1790 the seat of govern-
ment was removed to Philadelphia, and continued there till Decem-
ber, 1800, when it was transferred to Washington, in the District of
Columbia. During the sessions of Congress Mr. Adams usually re-
sided with his family at New York, and afterwards at Philadelphia ;
and in the intervals between them, on his estate at Quincy, about
eight miles distant from Boston. Mrs. ADAMS'S health, as she ad-
vanced in years, became frequently infirm ; but. with the exception
of one or Uvo sessions, when she was detained at home by indisposi-
tion, she resided with her husband at the seat of government.
In the administration of the first President of the United States
two parties immediately disclosed themselves. They were at first
merely the successors of those between which the struggle had been
maintained for and against the establishment of the Constitution of
the United States. The contest between persons and property, be-
tween the many and the few, inherent in the vitals of human society,
was always fermenting in the community. These elements of
contention, always acting and reacting upon the course of human
MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS.
events, and always modified by them, gave rise to two systems of
administration, the leading minds of which were Alexander Hamilton
and Thomas Jefferson. Washington endeavored to hold the balance
between them ; and Mr. Adams, in his station of Vice-President, gave
his cordial and effective support to the general measures of his ad-
ministration. The French Revolution breaking forth in the same
year when the Constitution of the United States went into operation,
and involving in its progress all the elements of contention incident
to human society, produced a conflict of principles which not even
the moderation, the spotless integrity, and the enduring fortitude of
Washington himself could assuage. Jefferson and Hamilton both suc-
cessively retired from the administration, but neither of them to quiet
retirement. The spirit of party turned with a virulence, incredible
at this day, against Washington himself; and upon his retirement. Mr.
Adams was, by a bare majority of the electoral votes over Mr. Jefferson,
chosen the successor to the Presidency, Mr. Jefferson himself being
by the same election seated in the chair of the Vice-Presidency.
The party struggle continued during the administration of Mr.
Adams ; and the defection of Hamilton, with other leaders of the
Federal party, turned the scale of the election of 1800. Thomas
Jefferson and Aaron Burr were returned with an equal number and
a majority of votes in the electoral colleges, and after a severe con-
test between them in the House of Representatives, Mr. Jefferson was
elected President of the United States. Mr. Adams retired to private
life, and spent the last twenty-five years of his life at his residence
in Q,uincy, where, on the 4th of July 1826, he died.
Mr. Jefferson, in his Inaugural Address, alluded to the political in-
tolerance which had marked the party conflicts of the preceding ad-
ministrations, and urged his countrymen to restore harmony and af-
fection to social intercourse. Of that intolerance, and of the bitter
and rancorous imputations which are its most effective weapons, no
man who had devoted his life to the service of his country ever en-
dured more than Mr. Adams. From the day when he took his seat
as President of the Senate, until that when his administration expired,
he was assailed with unappeasable virulence ; nor did it even cease
with his retirement to private life. The exemplary deportment of
Mrs. ADAMS towards persons of all parties during the twelve years
of her husband's connexion with the government of the United States,
disarmed even the demon of party spirit. She enjoyed universal
esteem, as well for the endowments of her mind, as for the correct-
ness of her deportment ; and the only form in which personal male-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
volence or party malignity could assume to turn her virtues into
weapons of annoyance to her husband, was that of occasional insinu-
ations that she exercised over him an uncontrolable influence,
extended even to measures of public concernment ; a slander not
less unjust than all the others with which Mr. Adams was inces-
santly pursued.
During the remainder of her life Mrs. ADAMS shared the retirement
of her husband, in the exercise of all the virtues that adorn and dig-
nify the female, and the Christian character. As the mistress of a
household, she united the prudence of a rigid economy with the gene-
rous spirit of a liberal hospitality ; faithful and affectionate in her
friendships, bountiful to the indigent, kind and courteous to her de-
pendents, cheerful, good-humoured and charitable in the intercourse
of social life with her neighbors and acquaintance. She lived in the
habitual practice of benevolence, and of sincere, unaffected piety. In
the year 1813 she \vas called to endure one of the severest afflictions
that can befall the lot of humanity, the death of her only daughter,
wife of Colonel William Stephens Smith of New York, after a long,
lingering, and painful disease. She had before, at earlier periods of
her life, lost one infant daughter and one son, Charles Adams, in the
prime of life and the thirtieth year of his age.
Mrs. ADAMS herself died of a typhus fever on the 2Sth of October,
1818, at the age of seventy-four ; leaving to the women of her country
an example which, could it be universally followed, would restore to
mankind the state of paradise before the fall. J. Q,. A.
10
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOH, LENOX AND
TILOEN FOUNDATtONfc
Armstrong1 frcrr. an original minature in oil by J.Trumbull P A-A.
THOMAS PINCKNEY.
THE early years of Major-general THOMAS PINCKNEY were passed
with his brother, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the subject of the
preceding sketch ; and, in addition to the facts which we have im-
bodied in that memoir, it will be only necessary to say. that THOMAS
was born at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 23d of October,
1750 ; and consequently was only three years old when taken to
England by his father. Like his brother, he made good use of his
time and opportunities for improvement, and after nearly twenty years
of absence returned to his native land full of patriotic ardor.
He was still engaged in his professional studies in London, when
the first notes of hostile preparation against his country were
sounded ; he immediately abandoned all other pursuits, and devoted
his whole attention to the acquisition of military knowledge, by which
he afterward distinguished himself in the Revolutionary army. His
military services were put in requisition very soon after his return to
Charleston ; and according to the statement of Major Garden, the
rudiments of discipline were first taught by him to the infantry of the
South Carolina line. On the formation of the two Provincial regi-
ments in 1775, he was appointed to the command of a company, and
soon after rose to the rank of Major. He had the reputation of an
able tactician and a rigid disciplinarian. Of his firmness and deci-
sion of character, he gave the following very unequivocal proof. At
an early period of the war, a mutiny having broken out in his regi-
ment, the officers attempted to suppress it by persuasion and remon-
strance, which were succeeded by upbraidings and menaces. Major
PINCKNEY walked deliberately into the midst of the mutineers, and
with his sabre cut down the ringleader. Order and subordination
were immediately restored.
When General Lincoln took command of the Southern army,
Major PINCKNEY was appointed one of his aids, and acted in that
capacity with the Count D'Estaing at the siege of Savannah. At the
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
attack on the enemy's works at Stono, in June, 1779, Major PINCK-
NEY gained great tipplause for his gallant conduct in the field, where
the battalion, to which he was attached, charged two companies of the
71st British regiment, and so completely routed them at the point of
the bayonet, that only nine men were able to take shelter within their
lines. At the siege of Savannah, while superintending the construc-
tion of a redoubt, a shell from the enemy fell into the ditch and burst.
Major PINCKNEY and Colonel D'Oyley were blinded with dust and
covered with dirt ; but the Major, without changing his position, or
being in the least discomposed, calmly observed, " I think, D'Oyley,
that must have been very near us," and then continued to press on
the work with great animation. When the assault on the town was
determined on, Major PINCKNEY led one of the assailing columns,
but was repulsed. Great confusion among the troops ensued, and all,
who could, pressed forward to avoid the destructive fire that poured
upon their rear. Major PINCKNEY hastened to the front of his sol-
diers, and commanded them to halt. " Success, my brave fellows," he
exclaimed, " though richly merited, has not crowned your exertions ;
yet do not disgrace yourselves by precipitate flight, and, though re-
pulsed, quit the field like soldiers." Order was restored, and the regi-
ment regained their encampment with deliberate steps.
At the disastrous battle of Camden on the 16th of August, 1780,
Major PINCKNEY, acting as Aid-de-camp to General Gates, had his
leg shattered by a musket ball, and fell into the hands of the enemy.
When sufficiently recovered to be removed, he was sent as a prisoner
of war to Philadelphia.
In 1787 he succeeded General Moultrie as Governor of South Ca-
rolina, and was eminently successful in re-establishing the authority
of the laws, which had been in a great measure dormant during the
war.
He received from President Washington, in 1792, the appointment
of Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. The duties
which devolved upon him during his residence in London were at-
tended with circumstances which required the exercise of great deli-
cacy and prudence, with vigilance and firmness. It will be recol-
lected, that at that time some of the provisions of the treaty of peace
between Great Britain and the United States remained unfulfilled.
The war which arose out of the French Revolution, and very soon
involved nearly all the European powers, exposed the commerce of
the Union to many embarrassments from the belligerents, who strove
to injure and annoy each other without regard to the rights of lieu-
THOMAS PINCKNEY.
tral nations. The neutrality of the United States was regarded with
jealousy by each of the great contending powers. Neutrality, indeed,
was offensive to both, and each strove to involve our country in the
war. But it was the settled policy of Washington's administration to
preserve a strict neutrality, and to favor neither of the belligerents.
There was an undoubted inclination, however, on the part of a ma-
jority of the people of the United States, to arrange themselves on the
side of France ; and the British government soon became aware of
that fact, and adapted their measures to the expected result, which
their power on the ocean enabled them to render exceedingly vexa-
tious. France being unable any longer to import the productions of
her colonies in her own ships, the carrying trade on the Atlantic
chiefly fell into the hands of the American merchants ; but that was
very soon interfered with by the orders of the British government to
their cruisers. The practice of impressing men from American
ships for the British navy, began also, about this time, to be a cause
of serious complaint ; and a renewal of hostilities seemed inevitable.
But the conduct of Republican France was equally unfriendly and
offensive ; and, considering the probable tendency of her great adver-
sary's measures, far more impolitic. Still the President remained
firm in his purpose of maintaining the neutrality of the United States
until the aggressions of foreign powers should clearly render neu-
trality incompatible with honor. He therefore determined to make
one more effort with each of the great contending powers, that should
either remove all cause of quarrel or demonstrate the necessity of
war. He accordingly communicated to the Senate of the United
States the despatches, which, in the beginning of the year 1794, had
been received from Major PINCKNEY at London, and on the 16th of
April nominated Mr. Jay as Envoy Extraordinary to his Britannic
Majesty.
While Major PINCKNEY was Minister at London, he was instructed
to seize every proper occasion to express the interest taken by the
President in the fate of La Fayette, who was then a prisoner in Ger-
many ; but his unofficial communications to the Austrian Minister in
London, and his endeavors to obtain the mediation of the British
government, were alike unavailing.
In November of the same year, Major PINCKNEY was appointed
Envoy Extraordinary to his Catholic Majesty, and repaired, in the
Summer of 1795, to Madrid. On the 20th of October following, he
concluded a treaty, which settled the controversy with Spain respect-
ing boundary, and secured the free navigation of the Mississippi. In
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the following year his private affairs requiring his presence at home,
he was recalled at his own solicitation, and returned to Carolina ;
where he was received with the most grateful evidences of the regard
and affection of his fellow-citizens. He afterward served a few ses-
sions in Congress, as a representative from Charleston district, and
then retired to private life.
When the despatches from our envoys to France in 1798 reached
this country, detailing the hostility of the Directory, and the humili-
ating proposition of tribute, and the indignities which had been offered
to Generals C. C. Pinckney and Marshall, and Mr. Gerry ; President
Adarns proposed to prevent their immediate publication, lest further
insults might follow, as those gentlemen were still in Paris. But on
consulting Major PINCKNKY, he gave a decided opinion that they
ought to be made public without delay, that the people might have a
perfect knowledge of the insulting conduct of the French Directory.
" And, Sir," he added. " if the situation of my brother causes you to
hesitate, I speak for him, as 1 know he would for me, were I similarly
circumstanced. The glory of our country is at stake. Individual
sufferings must not be regarded. Be the event what it may, life is
nothing compared with the honor of America."
After the lapse of several years, which had been devoted to the edu-
cation of his children and the improvement of his estate, the veteran
was once more called by his country to the field. At the commence-
ment of the war of 1812. President Madison appointed him to the
command of the Southern army. It was under his command that
the Indian war, in which General Jackson distinguished himself, was
undertaken and successfully terminated. He very early discerned
the talents of General Jackson, and recommended him to the War de-
partment for the command of a separate district, to be formed out of
his own, which extended from North Carolina to the Mississippi, and
which he considered entirely too large for one command. By thus
opening a field for the free exercise of the skill and enterprise of Ge-
neral Jackson, he advanced the interest and honor of his country, and
the war was closed by one of the most brilliant victories that adorn
the annals of any nation.
On the return of peace he resigned his commission, and declined
all further public employment. From that period his attention was
given to various scientific improvements in agriculture, and to the
cultivation of social intercourse amongst a very extensive circle of
relatives and friends. He died on the 2d of November, 1828, after a
lingering and painful illness.
ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATION*,
THOMAS MCKEAN.
THE facility with which the patriots of the American Revolution
passed from the excitement and turbulence of war to the cultivation
of the arts of peace, is one of the most remarkable of the numerous
excellencies for which they were conspicuous. They did not merely
convert weapons of warfare into implements of agriculture. They
displayed in civil occupations those exalted intellectual qualities which
are usually the growth of peaceful nurture, but which in them
seemed to spring up spontaneously, in defiance of adverse circum-
stances and perilous commotions. Perhaps the very concussion of
society may have elicited the sparks of genius which otherwise would
have lain inert, and never have been brought into existence.
We have been led to these remarks by contemplating the character of
an eminent lawyer and statesman, the foundation of whose greatness
was laid amidst the perils of a revolution. The condition of Chief
Justice McKEAN was similar to that of a majority of our illustrious
countrymen, who acquired in war the qualities essential to distinc-
tion in peace. The subject of this memoir was a native of the county
of Chester, in the province of Pennsylvania, and was born on the
nineteenth day of March. A. D. 1734.
He received his academical education under the superintendence of
the Rev. Francis Allison, a scholar and divine, eminent for piety and
learning ; and after having acquired the customary branches of know-
ledge, he commenced the study of the law in the office of his relative,
David Finney, Esq. at New Castle in Delaware. During the continu-
ance of his studies, he performed the duties of Clerk of the Prothono-
tary of the Court of Common Pleas, and subsequently became deputy
Prothonotary. and Register for the probate of wills, (fee. for the County
of Newcastle, the whole labor of which devolved upon him in conse-
quence of the absence of his principal.
His career at the bar, to which he was admitted to practice before
he had arrived at the age of twenty-one years, was rapid; and
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
extended to his native county of Chester and to the city of Phila-
delphia. In 1756 he was appointed deputy of the Attorney-General
to prosecute in the County of Sussex, which appointment he re-
signed after having, in a creditable manner, fulfilled its duties for
two years. In 1757 he was admitted to the har of the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania, and was without solicitation elected clerk
of the Assembly, which appointment was renewed on the follow-
ing year, but was subsequently declined. Another evidence of
his merit and growing reputation was exhibited by his having been
selected by the Legislature, together with Cassar Rodney, Esq. in
17(32. to print and revise the laws enacted since 1752 ; an important
and responsible duty, which was executed with promptness and suc-
cess.
The early part of his life having been thus devoted to the acquisi-
tion of practical knowledge, to the improvement of his abilities, and
to the establishment of a broad foundation for his reputation, he was
admirably well prepared, for a long and active career of public life.
His qualifications were extensive, and his habits of industry firmly
settled. The scene which was before him, was full of difficulty and
peril. He, however, advanced with resolution, and being thoroughly
prepared for every emergency, was enabled to sustain himself amidst
the most complicated and hazardous embarrassments which the con-
dition of public affairs produced.
In 1762. as a member of the Assembly from the County of New
Castle, he commenced that active participation in politics which he
continued for nearly half a century, during which time few great
events transpired with which he was not connected, and associated
his name with the momentous transactions of the Revolution. Du-
ring seventeen years he was annually re-elected in opposition to his
avowed inclination, and notwithstanding repeated communications
from him to his constituents, through the newspapers, declining a re-
election. This is the more remarkable from the circumstance, that
for the space of six years of that time he resided in the city of Phila-
delphia. It exhibits a singular proof of confidence on the part of the
constituents, and fidelity in the representative.
His repeated solicitations, to be relieved from his official burthen,
having been disregarded, he appeared on the 1st of October 1777, the
day of the general election, at New Castle ; and after delivering a long
and eloquent address to his constituents on the condition of public
affairs, succeeded in withdrawing his name as a candidate. But no
sooner had he accomplished this object, than the confidence of the
THOMAS MCKEAN.
people placed him in a situation of singular delicacy and embarrass-
ment.
A committee, composed of six persons, called upon him in the name
of the electors, and after expressing the reluctance with which they
acquiesced in his determination no longer to be their representative,
desired that, in consequence of the critical posture of affairs and their
confidence in his judgment, he would recommend seven persons in
whom they might confide as representatives for that county. Mr.
McKsAN made his grateful acknowledgments for so distinguished a
compliment, but struggled to be excused from a duty calculated to
give offence to his friends; and assured them that he knew not only
seven, but seventy of the gentlemen present at the election whom he
believed to be deserving of their suffrages. The electors, however,
persisted in their purpose, and the committee having returned to Mr.
McKKAN, and informed him that a compliance with the popular will
would not only not give offence to any individual, but would confer
a benefit on the country, he wrote the names of seven persons, who
were elected. Of the eighteen hundred electors present, the lowest
of the gentlemen named by Mr. MC-KEAN, on the ballot wanted less
than two hundred votes of that number.
So distinguished a proof of confidence made a deep impression on
his mind, and is of itself conclusive evidence of his devotion to the
public service, and the commanding integrity of his life. The ex-
perience of modern times, however, demonstrates that personal merit,
unaided by the peculiar condition of society, could not have been the
sole cause of the distinction. Merit in the constituents is essential to
such a result. The crowd of aspirants after official importance will
readily dispense with the services of an incumbent, however neces-
sary they may be to the country, and will supply vacancies without
requiring the prompting or advice of others. Mr. MC-KEAN'S consti-
tuents were of a peculiar order. They conferred distinction on merit
without stint or envy ; and having once tested the fidelity of their re-
presentative, they — •
"Grappled him to their souls with hooks of steel:
dnd did not dull their palms with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged candidate."
In 1764 the Legislature gave an additional proof of its confidence, by
appointing him to be one of the three trustees of the loan office for
New Castle County, which station he filled until the year 1772.
The controversy with Great Britain, which was fruitful of so many
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
thrilling' incidents, and brought so many powerful minds into action,
displayed itself about this period like a speck on the horizon ; and to
any other than the sagacious patriots of America would hardly have
seemed to portend a storm. But the legislation of the British Parlia-
ment could not escape the vigilance of Colonial jurists. The arro-
gance of British statesmen might look with contempt, on the apparent
simplicity of a race of men whom they affected to believe had degene-
rated from the parent stock ; but the event proved that there were
veins of intellectual wealth pervading our country not surpassed in
extent and value by any in Europe ; and that it only required the im-
pulse of oppression to bring into active operation moral and mental
powers, which have commanded the admiration of mankind.
Mr. McKEAN represented the Counties of New Castle, Kent, and
Sussex, in the Congress which assembled at New- York in October,
1768. His intrepidity soon gained for him distinction. He actively
engaged in their proceedings, and vindicated a course of inflexible
firmness. The president and several members having refused,
through timidity, to sign the proceedings, Mr. MC-KKAN so warmly
displayed his indignation, that he became involved in a personal con-
troversy, but which resulted in an increase of his reputation, and in the
exposure of his antagonists to popular obloquy. On his return to
New Castle, he and his colleague Mr. Rodney received the unani-
mous thanks of the Legislature for the energy and abilities with
which they had performed their duties in Congress.
During this year he was appointed Notary Public for the lower
counties of Delaware, and was also raised to the Bench, having re-
ceived a commission as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas, quar-
ter Sessions, and Orphan's Court for the County of New Castle. His
energy was not out of place in the judicial station ; for the court dis-
played an act of intrepidity which closely resembles the daring spirit
by which he was actuated at every period of his life. The officers
of the court were ordered to perform their duties as usual on un-
stamped paper, and this promptly repudiated an unconstitutional act
of Parliament.
If we are to judge of the estimation in which he was held by the
number and variety of his public employments, a high rank must be
assigned to him, for his services seem constantly to have been in re-
quisition. In 1769 he was sent by the Assembly to New- York to ob-
tain copies of all documents relating to real estate in the lower coun-
ties of Delaware prior to 1700 ; in 1771 he was appointed by the
Commissioners of his Majesty's customs, collector of the port of New
THOMAS MCKEAN.
Castle, and in October, 1772, he became the speaker of the House of
Representatives.
Notwithstanding he had fixed his residence permanently in Phila-
delphia, the affection of his old constituents followed him, and he was
appointed by the lower counties of Delaware a delegate to the Con-
gress of 1774. Their confidence continued with undeviating con-
stancy, and was exhibited by an annual re-election until the restora-
tion of peace in 1783, a distinction which was peculiar to himself,
there being no other example of an unbroken term of service during
that space of time. The convenience of his location at the place of
the meeting of Congress may have induced the Delawarians to have
selected him, and the absence of extensive pecuniary means of de-
fraying the expenses of a delegate, may have quieted the aspiring
spirits of rival candidates, and thus have thrown power into the hands
of a man who systematically disregarded selfish considerations.
The business of Congress was promptly and efficiently transacted
by the aid of his indefatigable and enlightened services. The extent
and variety of his labors could only be fully appreciated by his coad-
jutors in the many secret committees which were occupied in the
constant investigation of the affairs of a nation, and struggling to de-
vise the means of carrying it triumphantly through a long and deso-
lating conflict. In June, 1775, he was a member of the committee
which prepared and reported the articles of confederation, which how-
ever were not finally agreed to, until late in the following year, arid
not ratified by all the States until March 1781, when the State of
Maryland authorised her delegates to concur.
In addition to his other public duties, he was President of the con-
vention of deputies from the committee of Pennsylvania, held at Car-
penters' Hall in Philadelphia, in June 1776, who recommended a
Declaration of Independence by Congress ; a similar resolution having
been previously adopted in the month of May by the regiment of
Associators of which he was the colonel. In the same year he was
chairman of the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania, of the Com-
mittee of observation and inspection for the city and liberties of Phila-
delphia, and of a conference of delegates in Congress from the States
of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania ; thus exhibiting him-
self as a prominent and untiring laborer in a glorious but most peril-
ous conflict.
A slight knowledge of the character of Mr. McKsAN will prepare
us to find him in that intrepid rank of patriotic men who projected
the independence of their country, and at the risk of their lives severed
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the tie which bound her to the British dominions. He was the ear-
nest advocate of the propriety of making a Declaration of Independ-
ence, and its undaunted supporter after the measure had been adopted.
Mr. Rodney, one of the three delegates from Delaware, being absent
on the first of July, when Independence was resolved on in Committee
of the whole, and Mr. Read and Mr. McKEAN differing in opinion, the
vote of Delaware would have been lost, had not the zeal of Mr. MC-
KEAN induced him to send an express at his private expense for Mr.
Rodney. That gentleman arrived on the morning of the fourth, and
uniting with Mr. McKEAN, gave the vote of Delaware in favor of In-
dependence ; by which means that measure was adopted with the con-
currence of all the States. In consequence of his absence, performing
military services for several months immediately succeeding the fourth
of July, an opportunity did not occur until the month of October of
affixing his signature to the Declaration, engrossed on parchment.
But it was not merely in a civil capacity that Mr. McKEAN ac-
quired distinction. He performed the duties of a soldier with firm-
ness and activity. A pitched battle might have ranked him among
the military heroes of our country. Although he was never in a
regular engagement, his personal risk was great, and his exertions
ardent. The services of the militia of Pennsylvania having been re-
quired in New Jersey, Mr. McKEAN, as colonel of a regiment, marched
a few days after the Declaration of Independence to Perth Amboy, to
support General Washington, and continued in active service until
the occasion which called them to camp had ceased. In the perfor-
mance of military duty he faced the cannon's mouth, and had his
capacity as a soldier fully tested by his exposure to a heavy firing
from the enemy's batteries.
He had no sooner resumed his seat in Congress, than his attend-
ance at Dover, as a member of the convention for forming a Consti-
tution for Delaware, was required. On his arrival, after a fatiguing
ride, he was met by a committee, who requested him to write a con-
stitution for them. The labor occupied the night. The constitution
written by him was presented at 10 o'clock the next morning, and
unanimously adopted.
On the 28th of July, 1777, he was commissioned by the Supreme
Executive council of Pennsylvania as Chief Justice, a station which
he filled with distinguished ability for twenty-two years. As the
nation was just emerging from a Colonial condition, and as the dis-
turbed state of society unsettled the rights of property, great and novel
questions were constantly occurring, which required a court of more
6
THOMAS MCKEAN.
than ordinary sagacity, firmness, and learning to determine. Chief
Justice MC!VEAN displayed qualifications equal to the emergen-
cies of the times ; and, independently of the high authority of his opi-
nions, his character as a great judge has descended, in prominent re-
lief, to posterity.
In the performance of his judicial functions he displayed a firm-
ness which no danger could affect ; at one time braving the power of
Great Britain by the punishment of treason against his country, and
at another stemming the torrent of popular excitement by shielding
the accused from illegal punishment.
When we reflect that at the time of his appointment to the office of
Chief Justice he was a member of Congress, speaker of the Assembly,
President of Delaware, and that in July, 1781, he occupied the station
of President of Congress, we can form an estimate of the vast labor
which he performed, and of the unwearied application requisite to
master the complicated details of litigated cases, essential to the faith-
ful fulfilment of his judicial duties. Yet amidst the violence of party
animosity in which he was extensively involved, his enemies do not
seem to have charged him with the neglect of any of his duties,
although his filling so many offices became the ground of complaint.
Mr. McKEAN struggled to obtain relief from the great burthen of
public affairs which was heaped upon him. His health and fortune
were impaired, by his attention to public business. As a delegate in
Congress, he had never received sufficient to defray his expenses ; and
for two years he had neither been offered nor received any compen-
sation. The Legislature of Delaware, however, declined accepting
his resignation ; and although Congress, on the twenty-third of Octo-
ber, 1781, accepted his resignation as president, on the next day they
requested him to resume that station until the fifth of the following
November, when, having elected an officer to supply his place, they
relieved him from the duties of the chair, and rewarded him by a vote
of thanks.
Chief Justice McKEAN was often exposed to party animosity. His
integrity and great public services carried him through the fiery or-
deal unscathed. The confidence of his countrymen sustained him in
every trial. His ardent temperament and energy of character, were
always accompanied by disinterested patriotism, and strength of in-
tellect. An unsuccessful attempt was made to impeach him when
performing the duties of Chief Justice. But his reputation remained
unsullied, and his career of usefulness was not yet terminated.
In 1787 Chief Justice McKEAN was a member of the Convention
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of Pennsylvania which ratified the Constitution of the United States,
a measure which he advocated with all his zeal and ability. " I have
gone," said he, " through the circle of office, in the Legislature, Ex-
ecutive, and Judicial departments of government ; and from all my
study, observation, and experience, I must declare, that from a full
examination and due consideration of this system, it appears to me
the best the world has yet seen. I congratulate you on the fair pros-
pect of its being adopted, and am happy in the expectation of seeing
accomplished what has long been my ardent wish, that you will
hereafter have a salutary permanency in magistracy and stability in
the laws."
He was always the advocate of the rights of the smaller States, which
he struggled to protect from the encroachments of the larger members
of the confederacy. In the Congress of 1765, and in that of 1774, he
insisted that they should vote by States, which course was adopted.
Although he was not a member of the Convention which framed the
Constitution of the United States, he took a deep interest in their pro-
ceedings, and exerted his influence to secure the adoption of his fa-
vorite principle, of an equal vote in national proceedings by all the
States. He furnished the delegates from Delaware with notes of his
arguments on former occasions, when the question was discussed in
Congress, and urged upon the members from the larger, the pro-
priety of securing the rights of the smaller States. An equal repre-
sentation in the Senate of the United States, accomplished his object.
In 1789 Chief Justice MC-KEAN was elected a delegate, from the city
of Philadelphia to the Convention, to amend the Constitution of Penn-
sylvania. He engaged in the performance of his duties with his
usual earnestness ; but as he mostly occupied the chair when the Con-
vention was in Committee of the whole, he was precluded from a
very active participation in the debate. A proposition for the gratui-
tous education of the poor was suggested by him as an amendment
to Mr. Wilson's resolution for the establishment of schools, both of
which provisions were incorporated in the section of the Constitution,
which, on the motion of Mr. Pickering, was finally adopted.
After a warm party conflict, he was, in the year 1799, elected
Governor of Pennsylvania, which station he filled for nine years.
The extensive patronage of the Executive of Pennsylvania, renders
the possession of that office essential to party ascendency, and con-
sequently the acquisition agitates the commonwealth with the most
violent party commotions. In the conflict the public good is too often
overlooked ; and he who gains the victory, is too apt to consider the
THOMAS M' KEAN.
emoluments of public employment as the appropriate reward for ser-
vices rendered to a party.
Experience and skill are too often dispensed with, and the undisci-
plined incumbent naturally strives during the brief and uncertain space
of his official career, to reap as large a share as practicable of the pe-
cuniary benefits of his station. It is to be regretted that a man of
Governor MCKEAN'S high standing and independent spirit should
have yielded to the dominion of party feeling, and have sanctioned
by his high authority the practice of removing from office on mere
party grounds, which has so completely gained the ascendency in
the State, and been so prolific of mischief to the public service. He,
however, did not hesitate to remove his political antagonists, and
frankly avowed his motives. " It is at least imprudent," said he in a
letter to Mr. Jefferson, " to foster spies continually about one's self.
I am only sorry that I did not displace ten or eleven more : for it is
not rio-ht to put a dagger in the hands of an assassin." The violence
of his animosity did not, however, continue without intermission ; for
after his administration became firmly settled, he distinguished merit
in the ranks of his opponents, and elevated men to office who belonged
to the party opposed to him.
Swayed, as he occasionally was, by party feeling, the general tenor
of his administration was marked by his accustomed ability and devo-
tion to the public welfare. The extent of his knowledge, the vigor
of his language, and the ardor of his patriotism, gave him a lofty sta-
tion in the confidence of the people, and sustained the popularity of
his administration. In the years 1807 and 1808 another attempt was
made to impeach him, which drew from him a vigorous and success-
ful defence.
In the exercise of the important and delicate power of appointment,
he acted from the impulse of his own mind, and disdained to submit
to party dictation. With a strongly marked character, and feelings
inured to independence, his errors and his virtues emanated from his
own breast, and were not derived from an imitation of others or from
a compliance with their views of propriety. Lofty and inflexible, he
pursued that course which he believed to be right, and met the conse-
quences of public scrutiny, and the menace of popular condemnation,
with a fearless consciousness of rectitude.
In the year 1803 he declined an urgent solicitation to become a
candidate for the Vice- Presidency of the Union, and at the close of the
year 1808, having served as Governor during the constitutional pe-
riod of nine years, he finally retired from public life, and sought, in
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the endearments of domestic life, and in the cultivation of literature,
the enjoyments congenial to his age and inclination. He survived
his retirement about nine years, and, separated from all causes of ir-
ritation, enjoyed the unbounded respect and gratitude of the people
whom he had so efficiently served.
In the year 1814, when the rapid advances of the British awakened
apprehensions for the safety of Philadelphia, which was almost en-
tirely unprotected, a town meeting was convened in Independence
Square to devise measures for its security, The venerable patriot
attended, and his appearance was loudly greeted by the assembled
multitude, who unanimously called him to the chair. He briefly
addressed the meeting, aroused a spirit of devotion to their conn try,
and endeavored to soothe all dissentions by reminding them "that
there were then but two parties, our country and its invaders." His
speech was in the spirit of times which were past, and was recog-
nised as the voice of a patriot and a sage. Prompt and effective mea-
sures were the result of the meeting.
Governor MCKEAN'S deportment was dignified and impressive.
His fortitude, energy, and industry, were fully exhibited in his con-
duct throughout, life, whilst his public integrity has often been the
theme of commendation : his private character seems to have escaped
reproach. He was twice married ; once in 1762 to Miss Mary Borden
of Bordentown, and in 1 774 to Miss Sarah Armitage of New Castle,
Delaware.
He died on the twenty-fourth of June, 1817, aged eighty-three years
two months and sixteen days ; and was interred in the burial ground
of the first Presbyterian Church in Market Street, Philadelphia.
In reviewing the lives of patriotic men, who have devoted their abili-
ties to the service of the republic, it is gratifying to dwell on illus-
trious actions, upon which posterity pronounces an unanimous ver-
dict of approbation. Differences of opinion on abstract points, or on
temporary measures, are overlooked in contemplating a career dis-
tinguished for patriotic devotion to the public service. Party feeling
subsides, human infirmity is forgotten, and the reputation of the pa-
triot survives for ages. The fame of Governor MC-KEAN is identified
with some of the most important events of our country. History, in
recording them, will recount the virtues and the privations by which
they were accomplished.
T. A. B.
10
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
LEKQX
'• tOUKC
.
JOHN MCLEAN.
THE subject of this notice is one of those remarkable men, who,
by the force of their own independent exertions, have risen from ob-
scurity into great reputation, and into the highest offices in the nation.
History has bee;, said to be philosophy teaching by example ; and
this is more eminently true with regard to Biography, where every
lineament of the character is marked with more distinctness, and is
seen under a clearer light.
JoHNMcLEAN was born llth March, 1785, in Morris County. New
Jersey. When he was about four years of age his father removed to
the western country. He remained a year at Morgan town in Virgi-
nia, and then removed to that part of the State which has since been
erected into the State of Kentucky. He first settled on Jessamine,
near where the town of Nicholasville is now situated ; but in 1793
he removed to the neighborhood of Mayslick, where he continued to
reside until the year 1797, when he emigrated to the then north-
western territory (now Ohio), and settled on the farm on which the
son now lives. At an ealy age John was sent to school, and made
unusual proficiency for one whose general opportunities were so li-
mited.
The old gentleman being in narrow circumstances, and having a
pretty large family, was unable to send JJIIN from home to be edu-
cated. He continued, therefore, to labor on the farm until he was
about sixteen years of age, when his father consented to his placing
himself successively under the instruction of the Reverend Matthew
E. Wallace and of Mr. Stubbs, by whose assistance he made great
advance in the study of the languages. During this period, his ex-
penses, both for board and tuition, were defrayed by himself; for so
limited were the circumstances of his father, that he generously re-
fused any assistance from him.
When about eighteen years of age young McLEAN went to write
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in the clerk's office of Hamilton County-. This employment, at the
same time that it would enable him to support himself, would also
initiate him into the practical part of the law, the profession on which
he had already fixed his ardent and aspiring mind. The arrange-
ment was. that he should write in the office for three years, but re-
serving a certain portion of each day for study ; and at the same
time he was to prosecute the study of law under the direction of Ar-
thur St. Clair, an eminent counsellor, and son of the illustrious Ge-
neral of that name. It is in this way that a mind animated by a
genuine ambition, and firm and determined in its purposes, is fre-
quently able to overcome the greatest difficulties, and to show with
how much ease industry and virtue can triumph over all the disad-
vantages of obscurity and poverty.
During his continuance in the office, young McLEAN was indefati-
gable in the prosecution of his double duties. He also became a
member of a debating society, the first which was formed in Cincin-
nati ; and it is a fact entitled to notice, that most of the young men
who contributed to its formation have since distinguished themselves
in the public service of their country. Young McLEAN took an ac-
tive part in the discussions which were held in this society. The no-
tice which his efforts attracted still further confirmed him in the de-
termination which he had already taken not to aim at any ordinary
mark, but to make the highest intellectual distinction the prize of his
ambition.
In the Spring of 1807 MR. McLEAN was married to Miss Rebecca
Edwards, daughter of Dr. Edwards, formerly of South Carolina ; a
lady who, to the most amiable manners, unites the utmost benevolence
of character, and who has presided over the cares of a large family
with the greatest judgment and discretion.
In the fall of the same year MR. McLEAN was admitted to the
practice of the law, and settled at Lebanon. Here he immediately at-
tracted notice, and soon rose into a. lucrative practice at the bar. In
October, 1812, he was elected to congress in the district in which he
resided, by a very large majority over both his competitors.
From his first entrance upon public life MR. McLEAN was identi-
fied with the democratic party. He was an ardent supporter of the war
and of the administration of Mr. Madison ; not that he was the blind
and undistinguishing advocate of every measure which was proposed
by his party ; for he who will take the trouble to turn over the pub-
lic journals of that period, will find that his votes were mainly given in
reference to principle, and that the idea of supporting a dominant
JOHN McLEAN.
party, merely because it was dominant, did not influence his judg-
ment, or withdraw him from the high path of duty which he had
marked out for himself. He was well aware that the association of
individuals into parties was sometimes absolutely necessary to the
prosecution and accomplishment of any great public measure. This
he supposed was sufficient to induce the members composing them, on
any little difference with the majority, to sacrifice their own judg-
ment to that of the greater number, and to distrust their own opinions
when they were in contradiction to the general views of the party.
But as party was thus to be regarded as itself only an instrument for
the attainment of some great public good, the instrument should not
be raised into greater importance than the end, nor any clear and un-
doubted principle of morality be violated for the sake of adhering to
party. MR. McLEAN often voted against his political friends ; and so
highly were both his integrity and judgment estimated, that no one
of the democratic party separated himself from him on that account,
nor did this independent course in the smallest degree diminish the
weight which he had acquired among his own constituents.
The first session which he attended was the extra session in the
summer after the declaration of war. At this session, the tax bills
were passed to sustain the war. The law which was passed to in-
demnify individuals for property lost in the public service was origi-
nated by MR. McLEAN, and very naturally contributed to add to the
reputation with which he had set out in public life. At the ensuing
session he introduced a resolution, instructing the proper committee
to inquire into the expediency of giving pensions to the widows of
the officers and soldiers who had fallen in the military service, which
was afterwards sanctioned by law. At this session he also delivered
a very able and effective speech in defence of the administration in
the prosecution of the war. This was published in the leading jour-
nals of that day, and gave an earnest of the future eminence which
our subject was destined to attain.
MR. McLEAN was a member of the committees of foreign relations
and on the public lands.
In the fall of 1815 he was re-elected to Congress with the same
unanimity as before. During the same year he was solicited to be-
come a candidate for the senate, which he declined, inasmuch as the
House seemed at that time to present the widest arena for the display
of talents and for the acquisition of public fame. MR. McLEAN was
at this period barely eligible to a seat in the senate, having just at-
tained his thirtieth year.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Finding that the expenses of a family were greater than the com-
pensation he received as a member of Congress, and having no other
resources than were derived from his personal exertions, he consented
to become a candidate for the bench of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and
was elected to that office in 1816, unanimously. The duties of this
station he discharged with great ability. His mind seemed to combine
all the leading qualities which are requisite in a Judge, and his ad-
vancement to the office was felt to be a public advantage to the whole
State. Meanwhile his reputation abroad was increasing in propor-
tion ; and in the summer of 1822 Mr. Monroe appointed him Com-
missioner of the General Land Office. The emoluments of this office
were larger than the salary of Judge. This was a consideration which
was entitled to great weight. Judge MCLEAN had a growing family,
whom he was anxious to educate ; and at the same time that he would
now be better able to accomplish this darling object, the schools in the
district would present a better opportunity for attaining the higher
branches of education. He remained in this station, however, only
until the first of July, 1823, when he was appointed Postmaster-
General.
Many of his friends endeavored to dissuade him from accepting this
office. They urged that the former incumbents had found its duties
exceedingly arduous, while at the same time they were not exempted
from a large share of that abuse and calumny which is so often wan-
tonly and indiscriminately heaped upon the public servants. It \vas
agreed by many that no one could acquire reputation in the office.
But Judge McLean determined to repose upon the virtue and intelli-
gence of the people, and he went into the office with the determina-
tion of devoting his days and nights to the discharge of its duties.
The finances of the department were in a low condition, and it did
not possess the public confidence. But immediately order was res-
tored, and the public confidence revived. And it soon became evi-
dent how easy it is to manage the most complicated business when
the requisite ability and industry are put in requisition for the task.
In a short time the finances of the department were in a most flourish-
ins: condition ; despatch and regularity were given to the mails, and
the commercial intercourse of the whole country was prosecuted with
the utmos* celerity and ease.
Inefficient contractors were dismissed, and the same course was
adopted with regard to the postmasters and other agents of the depart-
ment. Judge MCLEAN controlled the entire action of the department.
The whole correspondence was superintended and directed by him.
JOHN McLEAN.
He grve his undivided and personal attention to every contract which
was made or altered. All appointments, all charges against postmas-
ters, were acted on by him. In short, there was nothing done, involv-
ing the efficiency or character of the department, which was not done
under his immediate sanction.
When he accepted the office, the salary of the Postmaster-General
was four thousand dollars. A proposition was made to increase it to
six thousand, and was sanctioned by the House of Representatives, by
an almost unanimous vote, in 1827. There were, indeed, very few
votes Against it ; and some of the members who were opposed to it, re-
gretted that they were compelled to pursue that course. In the senate,
the bill passed also, almost unanimously. Mr. Randolph voted against
it, and said the salary was for the officer and not for the office ; arid he
proposed to vote for the bill if the law should be made to expire when
Judge McLEAN left the department.
During the whole period that the affairs of the department were ad-
ministered by Judge McLEAN, he had, necessarily, a most difficult
part to act. The country was divided into two great parties, animated
by the most determined spirit of rivalry, and each bent upon advanc-
ing itself to the lead of public affairs. A question of great import was
now started, whether it was proper to make political opinions the test
of qualification for office. Such a principle had been occasionally
acted upon during preceding periods of our history, but so rarely, as
to const'tute the exception rather than the rule. It had never become
the settled and systematic course of conduct of any public officer.
Doubtless every one is bound to concede something to the temper and
opinions of the party to which he belongs, otherwise party would be
an association without any connecting bond of alliance : but no man
is permitted to infringe any one of the great rules of morality and jus-
tice for the sake of subserving the interests of his party. It cannot be
too often repeated, nor too strongly impressed upon the public men of
America, that nothing is easier than to reconcile these two apparently
conflicting views. The meaning of party is that it is an association of
men for the purpose of advancing the public interests. Men flung
together, indiscriminately, without any common bond of alliance,
would be able to achieve nothing great and valuable ; while, united
together, to lend each other mutual support and assistance, they are
able to surmount the greatest obstacles, and to accomplish the most
important ends. This is the true notion of party. It imports com-
bined action, but does not imply any departure from the great princi-
ples of truth and morality. So long as the structure of the human
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mind is so different in different individuals, there will always be a
wide scope for diversity of opinion as to public measures ; but no
foundation is yet laid in the human mind for any material difference
of opinion as to what constitutes the great rule of justice.
The course which was pursued by Judge MCLEAN was marked by
the greatest wisdom and moderation. Believing that every public offi-
cer held his office in trust for the people, he determined to be influ-
enced by no other principles, in the discharge of his public duties, than
a faithful performance of the trust committed to him. No individual
was removed from office by him on account of his political opinions.
In making appointments, where the claims and qualificat ons of indi-
viduals were equal, and at the same time one was known to be friendly
to the administration, he felt himself bound to appoint the one who was
friendly. But when persons were recommended for office, it was not
the practice to name, as a recommendation, that they were friendly to
the administration. In all such cases the man who was believed to
be the best qualified was selected by the department.
On the arrival of General Jackson at Washington, after his elec-
tion, and when he was about selecting the members of his cabinet,
Juds;e McLEAN was sent for to ascertain whether he was willing to
remain at Washington. Gen. Jackson having stated the object he
had in view in requesting an interview, the Judge remarked to him,
before he submitted any proposition on the subject, that he was desi-
rous to explain to him the line of conduct which he had hitherto pur-
sued. He observed, that the General miirht have received the im-
pression from some of the public prints tlr-it the Postmaster-General
had wielded the patronage of his office for the purpose of advancing
the General's election to the Presidency : that he wished it distinctly
to be understood that he had done no such thing, and that if
he had pursued such a course, he would deem himself unworthy
of the confidence of the President elect, or of any honorable man.
The General replied with warm expressions of regard and con-
fidence, that he approved of his course, and wished him to re-
main in the post-office department. He at the same time expressed
regret that circumstances did not enable him to offer the Judge
the Treasury department. The War and the Navy departments were
subsequently tendered to him, but he declined them both. After-
wards Gen. Jackson sent for him, expressed great regret at his
leaving Washington, and made unbounded professions of friendship if
he would consent to remain. But the Judge's resolution had been
taken, and he was determined to adhere to it. The spirit of party
JOHN McLEAN.
had become unusually bitter and acrimonious, and threatened to over-
leap all the fences with which it had been hitherto confined. He be-
lieved that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to pursue the
even and measured course which he had hitherto followed with so
much credit to himself and advantage to the nation. Retirement from
political life seemed, under such circumstances, most desirable. The
President, however, wishing to avail himself of abilities which had
been exerted so long in behalf of the public welfare, offered him the
place of Judge of the Supreme Court, the highest judicial station in
the country ; and on his signifying that he would accept, he was im-
mediately nominated, and the nomination ratified by the senate.
Soon after this appointment many of the public journals in the
northern, middle, and western states introduced his name to the pub-
lic as a candidate for the presidency at the succeeding election. Many
of the opposition papers adhered to Mr. Clay, and the name of Mr.
Oalhoun was brought out in some parts of the South. The Anti-Ma-
sonic party showed a strong disposition to rally upon Judge McLhAiv,
and it was clear that that party could not elect, unless the other ele-
ments of opposition should unite with them.
The Anti-Masons met in convention in the fall of the year 1831,
and Judge McLcAN addressed a letter to the members of the conven-
tion, declining a nomination. In this letter he declared, that " If by
a multiplicity of candidates, an election by the people should be prevent-
ed, he should consider it a national misfortune. In the present agitated
state of the public mind, an individual who should be elected to the
chief magistracy by less than a majority of the votes of the people,
could scarcely hope to conduct successfully the business of the nation.
He should possess in advance the public confidence, and a majority
of the suffrages of the people is the only satisfactory evidence of that
confidence."
Shortly after the re-election of Gen. Jackson, his name was again
brought forward, in the first instance by a nomination of the people in
Baltimore, which was followed by similar nominations in Pennsylva-
nia, Ohio, New Jersey, and several other States. A majority of the
members of the Ohio legislature also nominated him for the same
place. At length, in August, 1835, he addressed a letf sr to the chair-
man of one of the principal committees, in which he expressed the
same sentiments he had declared on the preceding occasion. He was
aware that this course would discourage his friends, but he was not
desirous to attain the office, except on such terms as would enable
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
him to carry out those principles which would elevate and tranquil-
lize the political action of the country.
Judge MCLEAN has been a member of the Supreme Court for more
than seven years, during the whole of which he has been eminently
distinguished for his learning, ability, and eloquence. If there is any
one field of jurisprudence in which he is more distinguished than
another, it may be said to be constitutional law. in which, though there
is less opportunity for the display of mere learning, there is at any rate
wider scope for the exercise of the power of reasoning and investiga-
tion. There is no human reputation more enviable than that which
is acquired in this office. Independently of the peimanent tenure of
the station, the opportunities are so frequent for the exertion of the
highest intellectual ability, that it would seem to offer greater temp-
tations to ambition than even the office of chief magistrate.
Judge McLEAN is still in the vigor of life, and unless withdrawn
from this high station by the solicitations of his countrymen, may
continue for many years to discharge its duties with the same ability
and wisdom which have uniformly distinguished him.
THE NEW vis'?
PUBLIC LIBRARY
6
LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS.
IN our Republic, where the principle of distribution is perpetually at
work against the long continuance of property in the hands of any race
of individuals, the duties of the female sex may be generally expected
to prove too burdensome to admit of great devotion to pursuits exclu-
sively literary or political, or even to that species of social influence
which, in other countries, has not unfrequently made women the ar-
biters of weal or woe to a nation. The position in life of the greater
number, is determined by the accident of marriage, and depends upon
the success of exertions more often made by their partners after than
before that event. Mere wealth is rather an obstacle than an aid to
the acquirement of the distinction most coveted in America, while po-
litical success often attends him in advanced age, who has, in early
days, struggled hard with poverty, and devolved upon a wife, selected
perhaps with sole reference to the most ordinary duties of life, all the
drudgery of domestic cares. The duties of a housekeeper, a wife, and
a mother, while they make every woman who faithfully executes them
respectable in the eyes of the world, do not, when exclusively pur-
sued, so well fit her to shine upon that brilliant theatre of politics and
fashion to which she may yet be called. This may in part account
for the somewhat remarkable absence of female biography in the an-
nals of our nation, and for the little power which appears hitherto to
have been exerted by individuals of that sex in the circles of Ameri-
can society. At the same time it ought never to be forgotten that the
greatest praise is due to those, who have been by circumstances dis-
tinguished above the rest, for having, as well by example as by pre-
cept, so rigidly preserved the standard of our morality pure ; in this
manner earning for themselves a far more substantial claim to the pub-
lic gratitude, than all the fame which ever grew out of the brilliant
salons of the corrupt society in the French metropolis.
Mrs. LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS in early life enjoyed advantages
not usual at that period to American ladies. The daughter of Joshua
NATIONAL PORTPxAITS.
Johnson, a citizen of the colony of Maryland, engaged in commercial
pursuits in London, she was bom in that city on the 12th of Fe-
bruary, 1775. Mr. Johnson, although established in the mother coun-
try when the Revolution commmenced, was not one of those who took
sides with her, and settled into the character of refugees and exiles
from their native land. While his brother, Thomas Johnson, took a
leading part at home, both in the Colony and as a delegate to the first
Congress, and the remaining members of a numerous family were ac-
tively engaged in the war which ensued ; he, himself, retired from
Great Britain to Nantes in France. There he received, from the federal
congress, an appointment as commissioner to examine the accounts of
all the American functionaries then entrusted with the public money of
the United States in Europe ; in the exercise of the duties of which
he continued until the peace of 1782. Our National Independence
having then been recognised, he returned to London, where he conti-
nued to reside, and where he acted as consular agent for the United
States, until his final return, in 1797, to his native soil.
It thus happened that the early years of Mrs. ADAMS were passed
partly in Great Britain and partly in France, from each of which
she derived advantages of observation, and opportunities for accom-
plishment in mind and manners, not very common with her country-
women of that day. These eminently fitted her for the part she was
in after-life called to perform. In the house of her father in London,
then a general resort for all Americans, who, whether for business or
pleasure, frequented that metropolis, she was introduced into society ;
and it was here that Mr. John duincy Adams, when commissioned by
President Washington to exchange the ratifications of the Treaty of
19th November, 1794, and to agree upon arrangements for carrying
some of its provisions into execution, found her. The dry details of
diplomatic conference were relieved by evenings of social intercourse,
and the formalities of British negotiation made less tedious by the
awakening of the most agreeable sympathies. Mr. Pinkney arrived,
and Mr. Adams became released from his official duties ; but in the
mean time a matrimonial engagement had been contracted, which, on
the 26th day of July, 1797, that is, the year following these events, ter-
minated in a marriage, at the church of All-Hallows, where Miss John-
son became Mrs. ADAMS.
The discriminating eye of President Washington marked out Mr.
Adams, while a young lawyer, in Boston, writing political essays
upon the leading topics of that day, as fit for the public- service. For
some years prior to this marriage, he had been occupying the station
LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS.
of minister resident at the Hague, and the eminent ability of his offi-
cial despatches confirmed the impression he had previously made. It
procured for him the very honorable and confidential trust which car-
ried him to London, as well as a subsequent promotion to be Minister
Plenipotentiary to Lisbon. He was upon the eve of departure at the
period of his marriage, when the accession of his father, John Adams,
to the Presidency, occurred. This was productive of no advancement,
but simply of a transfer from Lisbon in Portugal, to a position in the
same capacity at Berlin in Prussia.
Perhaps it is not easy at this time to form a just estimate of the po-
sition occupied by representatives of the United States at the Courts
of the sovereigns of Europe at the period now referred to. We were
regarded as hardly more than successful rebels, whose example was
not entirely of good omen, and as yet manifesting in our local discord
and disorganization, rather an incapacity for regulating a well-ordered
State, than any prospect of arriving at a station of much political
weight. Under such circumstances, the appearance of representatives
at courts, to which none had before been sent, was an event not merely
to excite curiosity. It was known that a new government, having
some appearance of stability, had been organised, at the head of which
had been placed General Washington ; and the first impressions ob-
tained from his administration were to be strengthened or not, accord-
ing to the efficiency of the agents he might think proper to employ
To Berlin, where no minister had before been acknowledged, Mr.
Adams repaired, conducting his wife, as a bride, at once to play her
part in the higher circles of social and political life. It need scarcely
be added, that she proved perfectly competent to this ; and that during
four years, which comprised the period of her stay at that court, not-
withstanding almost continual ill-health, she succeeded in making
friends and conciliating a degree of good will, the recollection of which
is, even at this distance of time, believed to be among the most agree-
able of the associations with her varied life.
In 1801, after the birth of her eldest child, she embarked with Mr.
Adams on his return to the United States. The revolution which had
taken place in the political affairs of the, country, determined him to
resume the practice of the law in Boston, to which place she came, a
stranger to the habits and manners, though not to the feelings, of the
people about her. Scarcely had sufficient time elapsed to become at
home, before she was called upon to follow the wandering fortunes of
the wife of a United States' senator. Very fortunately for her, a sister
had become established at Washington, in whose house she again met
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the members of her own family, and thus found an agreeable home for
those winter months, which other ladies, similarly situated, are rarely so
happy as to enjoy. Almost always accompanying Mr. Adams, the al-
ternative of Boston in summer and Washington in winter, continued
with little intermission tin til the year 1808, when he resigned his seat
in the senate of the United States. But in the ensuing year, 1809, a
new revolution in her prospects and another scene awaited her. Mr.
Adams was appointed by President Madison the first accredited minis-
ter to the empire of Russia ; and as he was required to embark forth-
with, she decided upon going with him, even at the cost of leaving
with their grand-parents two of her children, to pursue their education
at home, and taking only the third and youngest, then an infant of
about two years old. They sailed from Boston early in August, and
after a long and somewhat hazardous passage, arrived in St. Petersburg
towards the close of October.
Here, again, Mrs. ADAMS was destined to be the first lady presented
to the notice of the Russian court as a representative of American
female manners and character, and here again she succeeded in making
a favorable impression. But there were circumstances which rendered
her abode at St. Petersburg much less agreeable to herself than it had
been at Berlin. The great distance from America was not the only
obstacle to communication. The extraordinary events which occurred
in Europe at this period, rendered the difficulties much greater than
usual in obtaining that information respecting those whom she had
left behind, which was essentially necessary to cheerfulness ; and the
severity of the winter climate, together with the more formal and less
friendly character of Russian society, did not contribute to its acqui-
sition. Domestic sorrow, too, in the loss of an infant daughter, born du-
ring her stay there, threw its shadow over the scene. What universal
anxiety marked the era, it is difficult in these quiet times to realise !
For the civilized world was in arms ; and while at one moment the
desolating progress of Napoleon had almost touched the city in which
she was then dwelling, and from which its own sovereign, the Empe-
ror Alexander, was meditating a retreat ; at another, the thunders of
the British cannon were resounding from the walls of the American
capital, within which her friends resided. Here were lessons of human
vicissitude, in different quarters of the globe, which might well fix the
mind in the contemplation of dark views of fortune, as well as the in-
security even of existence.
In this connection it is not unworthy of remark, that of all those
persons sent from the United States as envoys to the court of St. Pe-
LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS.
tersburg since Mr. Adams, whose stay was of nearly six years, but one
(Mr. Middleton) has been content to remain for any period of consi-
derable duration. The reason may probably be traced to the diametri-
cal opposition of the Russian habits to those of our own country, the
harshness of the climate, and to the exclusion, for so many of the win-
ter months, from any thing approaching to social communication with
home. Hence, high as this mission is held in the rank of political
distinctions, it comes in no very long time to be felt by the incumbent
as an expulsion from American society little short of an honorable exile.
Mr. and Mrs. ADAMS were themselves anxious to return home long
before they did, but were prevented by circumstances, which made their
stay even more disagreeable. The principal of these was the general
war. The offer made by Alexander, of mediation between Great
Britain and the United States, promised at one moment to make St. Pe-
tersburg the seat of negotiation, but it was subsequently transferred to
Ghent ; and thither Mr. Adams was directed to proceed, to take his
part as one of the commissioners. This was in April, 1814, and the
fate of the attempt at reconciliation appeared so doubtful, and the state
of Europe so unsettled, that it was deemed best he should go alone.
Thus, in addition to all the causes of a general or temporary character,
which make a Russian winter, in ordinary cases, something of a trial,
Mrs. ADAMS was destined to pass her sixth season alone — separated
from her husband, and from all the other relatives or friends who had
accompanied her out, but who had one by one dropped off to find their
way home. This was not agreeable, but there was no alternative.
Spring, however, brought with it cheerful tidings of the probability
of peace and of departure. The general pacification preceded the par-
ticular treaty between Great Britain and the United States concluded
at Ghent but a short time ; and upon this Mrs. ADAMS received a pro-
position to proceed at once by a land journey to Paris there to rejoin
her husband. To accept it, notwithstanding the difficulties which
might be in the way of execution, was the work but of a moment. For
to her mind, what could be the terror of a solitary journey through the
late theatre of a furious and bloody war, the plains and villages still
bearing palpable evidence of its horrors, compared with that charming
prospect of a return to more genial climes, to the company of an af-
fectionate husband, and an approximation towards her long-absent
children.
Those who have known Mrs. ADAMS in her later days, will not be
likely to imagine her as by nature robust, or by education bold. And
yet few women of the age have undergone more extraordinary fatigue
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in her various journeys, or displayed more energy in the accomplish-
ment of her undertakings. None, however, was so well calculated to
test the strength of her nerves as that now in question. The pass-
ports of the Russian Government, however strong, and the reflection
upon herself of the diplomatic character of her husband, however
sacred, would, even in the most quiet times, have scarcely overcome,
with many of the delicately nurtured female sex, the apprehensions of
a departure in a carriage, alone, at a season still early for travelling,
with a son eight years of age to take care of, and only menial servants
of untried, and, as it turned out, of suspicious fidelity for her guard.
In such circumstances, to be fastened in a snow-drift with night com
ing on, and to be forced to rouse the peasants of the surrounding coun-
try to dig them out, which happened in Courland, was no slight mat •
ter. But it was of little significance compared to the complicated
anxieties incident to the listening, at every stopping place, to the tales
of robbery and murder just committed on the proposed route, so perpe-
tually repeated at that time to the traveller ; and to the warnings given
by apparently friendly persons of the character of her own servants,
corroborated by the loss of several articles of value ; and. most of all,
to the observation of the restless contention between jarring political
passions, under which the whole continent of Europe was heaving until
it burst forth at the return of Napoleon from Elba. Hardly a day
passed that did not require of Mrs. ADAMS some presence of mind to
avoid becoming implicated in the consequences of party fury. For
even the slight symbol of a Polish cap on the head of her servant came
near making food for popular quarrel. Such was the sensibility of
the public mind at the time.
A less determined woman, upon hearing of the condition in to which
France was thrown by Napoleon's return, would have stopped short at
some intermediate point, without venturing to complete her undertak-
ing. Not so with Mrs. ADAMS. She dismissed her servants, both of
whom professed to be themselves afraid of going further, procured
others, and went on. But she had not gone very far before she un-
luckily found herself entangled with a considerable detachment of the
wild soldiery, elated to excess by the arrival of their great chief, and
then on its way to Paris to prepare, under his inspection, for that last
scene of slaughter, the field of Waterloo. This was a very awkward
position, as the troops seemed disposed to require from all around
them the most unequivocal declaration of political faith. Mrs. ADAMS
at once appealed to the commander of the detachment, and by his advice
she was enabled to fall back, although not without the exercise of con-
LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS.
siderable prudence, until the last of the men had passed, when she
diverged into another road, and by making a considerable circuit,
avoided any further meeting. Having proved in this manner that
calmness and presence of mind render many things perfectly practica-
ble which imagination at first invests with insuperable difficulties, she
arrived in Paris safe and well, there to be greeted by her husband, on
the evening of the 21st of March, 1815, immediately after that of the
memorable arrival of Napoleon and the flight of the Bourbons.
The beginning of the celebrated hundred days ! What an exciting
moment to reach the French capital ! crowded as it was with troops,
collecting for the impending trial at arms, and its streets alive with
that enthusiasm which, in its highest degree, it appears to be only within
the scope of military heroism to excite. Whatever may have been the
feeling elsewhere than in Paris, there could not be a shadow of doubt
in the mind of any spectator, that in the affections of the populace of
Paris, as well as of the army, Napoleon was an idol. While, on the one
hand, his appearance but for a few instants upon one of the balconies of
the palace of the Tuilleries, was a signal for acclamation from the
thousands who frequented its gardens to gain a glimpse of him ; on the
other, curses loud and deep, not unmingled with ridicule and con-
tempt, were every where to be heard uttered against Louis and the
allies. Here was room for observation to last a lifetime ! Here was
room for testing even the contrasts of this world ; for at one and the
same moment the splendid reviews of a cavalry force rarely surpassed,
were filling the square of the Place Carousel with its loudest and most
spirit-stirring notes, and the yet unremoved collections of what the ge-
nius of centuries had hallowed, were spread ing around them in the halls
of the Louvre a sense of the solemn stillness and repose of the highest
walk of art. Mrs. ADAMS was capable of appreciating the advantages
thus thrown in her way ; and to her, whose European life had carried
her very little to the great French metropolis, this opportunity of seeing
it at such a period, well rewarded her effort to reach it, and was ever
considered among the most fortunate events in her existence.
But, however interesting Paris might be, there were ties in Great
Britain to Mrs. ADAMS, where her husband's new duty as the Minister
from the United States called him, which made her leave France with
little regret. These ties were her children, who had come out from
America to join her, and whose arrival afforded her a joy, for the ab-
sence of which no brilliant scenes could compensate. In itself, a resi-
dence in England so immediately after a war between the two coun-
tries, which had terminated not quite to the satisfaction of her pride,
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
was not calculated to be productive of much pleasure ; yet it may
fairly be questioned whether, in the bosom of her reunited family, and
in the sweet but modest country-seat in the vicinity of London selected
for their habitation, Mrs. ADAMS did not draw as much enjoyment
from her domestic feelings, as she ever did from witnessing any of the
more busy and exciting scenes in which she has been called to parti-
cipate.
Two years thus elapsed, when the election of Mr. Monroe to the
Presidency became the precursor of another change. One of his first
official acts was the appointment of Mr. Adams to the responsible sta-
tion of Secretary of State in his administration, and this, of course, re-
quired his immediate return to the United States. Upon receiving the
intelligence, he took passage with his family in a vessel bound from
London to New- York, where he arrived on the 6th of August, 1817,
after just eight years of absence from his native country. Mrs. ADAMS
thus took leave of Europe, after having passed in it the greater portion
of her life, and that during a period, perhaps, as remarkable for a
crowded succession of astonishing events as any in the history of man.
To have lived in such times, so distinguished for the presence of all
that exalts, adorns, or merely gives lustre to human action, was some-
thing of a privilege ; but to have moved in scenes so various and so
distant from each other, among the principal agents in all the great
events at different points, xvas the lot among American ladies of scarcely
any, excepting Mrs. ADAMS. Nevertheless she returned to our repub-
lican circles unwedded to the habits of a court, her mind imawed by
the splendor either of civil or military monarchy.
The performance of the duties of the State department necessarily
required a residence at Washington, and the manner in which Mr.
Adams thought proper to devote himself to them, devolved upon his
lady the entire task of making his house an agreeable resort to the
multitudes of visitors who crowd to the capital on errands of business,
or curiosity, or pleasure, from the various sections of the United States,
during the winter season. A large diplomatic corps from foreign
countries, who feel themselves in more immediate relations with the
Secretary of State, and a distinguished set of public men, not then di-
vided by party lines in the manner which usually prevails, rendered the
society of that time, and Mrs. Adams's house, where it most often con-
centrated, among the most agreeable recorded in our annals. Much as it
has been ridiculed since, the " era of good feelings " had some charac-
teristics peculiar to itself. For an instant, sectional animosities relented,
the tone of personal denunciation and angry crimination, too gene-
LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS.
rally prevailing in extremes, yielded ; and even where the jealous rival-
ry for political honors still predominated in the hearts of men, the easy
polish of general society removed from casual spectators any sense of
its roughness, or inconvenience from its impetuosity. Washington may
have presented more brilliant spectacles since, but the rancor of party
spirit has ever mingled its baleful force too strongly, not to be percepti-
ble in the personal relations which have existed between the most dis-
tinguished of our political men.
During the eight years in which Mrs. ADAMS presided in the house
of the Secretary of State, no exclusions were made in her invitations,
merely on account of any real or imagined political hostility ; nor,
though keenly alive to the reputation of her husband, was any dispo-
sition manifested to do more than to amuse and enliven society. In
this, the success was admitted to be complete, as all will remember who
were then in the habit of frequenting her dwelling. But in proportion
as the great contest for the Presidency, in which Mr. Adams was in-
volved, approached, the violence of partisan warfare began to manifest
its usual bad effects, and Mrs. ADAMS became inclined to adopt habits
of greater seclusion. When, at last, the result had placed her in the
President's mansion, her health began to fail her so much, that though
she continued to preside upon occasions of public reception, she ceased
to appear at any other times, and she began to seek the retirement,
which ever since her return to private life she has preferred. Mr.
Adams has been, it is true, and still continues, a representative in Con-
gress from the State of Massachusetts, and this renders necessary an
annual migration from that State to Washington, and back again, as
well as a winter residence within the sound of the gaieties of that place ;
but while her age and health dispense her from the necessities of at-
tending them, severe domestic afflictions have contributed to remove
the disposition. Thus the attractions of great European capitals, and
the dissipation consequent upon high official station at home, though
continued through that part of life when habits become most fixed,
have done nothing to change the natural elegance of her manners nor
the simplicity of her tastes. In the society of a few friends and near
relatives, and in the cultivation of the religious affections without dis-
play, she draws all the consolation that can in this world be afforded
for her privations. To the world Mrs. ADAMS presents a fine exam-
ple of the possibility of retiring from the circles of fashion, and the ex-
ternal fascinations of life, in time still to retain a taste for the more
quiet, though less showy attractions of the domestic fireside. A strong
literary taste, which has led her to read much, and a capacity for com-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
position in prose and verse, have been resources for her leisure moments;
not with a view to that exhibition which renders such accomplish-
ments too often fatal to the more delicate shades of feminine character,
but for her own gratification, and that of a few relations and friends.
The late President Adams used to draw much amusement in his latest
years at Gluincy, from the accurate delineation of Washington man-
ners and character, which was regularly transmitted, for a considerable
period, in letters from her pen. And if, as time advances, she becomes
gradually less able to devote her sense of sight to reading and writing,
her practice of the more homely female virtues of manual industry, so
highly commended in the final chapter of the book of Solomon, still
amuses the declining days of her varied career.
'
HENRY LAURENS.
HENRY LAURENS was born at Charleston, South Carolina, in the year
1724. His ancestors were French protestants, who sought in the
American wilderness a refuge from persecution, shortly after the revo-
cation of the edict of Nantes. We have already traced the genealogy
of several of our Revolutionary patriots to the same period.
After receiving the best education which the most competent
teachers in Carolina could impart, HENRY LAURENS was put under
the care of Thomas Smith, a merchant of Charleston, and afterwards
of Mr. Crockatt of London, and acquired those habits of order and
method in business for which he was remarkable. On his return to
Charleston he entered into partnership with Mr. Austin, a merchant
already engaged in an extensive trade. He devoted himself to busi-
ness with a zeal and industry which far surpassed his contemporaries ;
and he established a character for himself worthy the emulation of all
young merchants. He was scrupulously punctual in the discharge of
all pecuniary engagements, and in being where, and doing what, he
had promised. He was an early riser, and frequently had the business
of the day arranged when others were beginning to think of leaving
their beds. His letters were generally written in the retired hours of
the night or morning ; and whether on subjects of business, friendship,
or amusement, were considered 'models of forcible expression and
perspicuity of language.
He studied human nature in all the various specimens which it was
his interest to know thoroughly, with the earnestness of Lavater ; and
his judgment enabled him very soon to ascertain the true value of
every man with whom he had to transact business. His diligence,
prudence, and knowledge of men and business, could not fail of suc-
cess ; and in winding up the concerns of the partnership, in 1770,
twenty-three years after its commencement, and which had embraced
transactions to the amount of many millions, such was their confidence
in the safety of their business, that he offered to his partner to take al!
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
outstanding debts as cash at a discount of only five per cent, on the
aggregate amount.
One of the strong traits of his character, was his love of justice.
He would never draw a bill of exchange until he had a written ac-
knowledgment of indebtedness to the amount drawn for. He once had
a lawsuit with the Vice- Admiralty Judge, in which he resisted the
claims of the royal government, which by some recent regulations
were hostile to American rights. Mr. LAURENS being cast, he ten-
dered to the Judge his legal fees to a considerable sum. The Judge
declined receiving them, and Mr. LAURENS conceiving he had no
right to retain what was legally due from him, gave the amount to the
South Carolina Society, to be expended in charity. He pursued the
same course on other occasions, when money was left unclaimed in
his hands, which he was unwilling to keep.
He once persuaded a favorite slave to receive the small pox by in-
oculation, which terminated fatally. To comfort the dying man for
the unfortunate issue of the experiment, assurances were given to him
that his children should be emancipated ; which was accordingly
done.
Having amassed a fortune far exceeding what was men common in
America, and being a widower, he went to Europe in 1771, to superin-
tend the education of his sons. During his residence in England, the
disputes between the Colonies and the parent state continued to approach
the point where an amicable adjustment was hopeless. Mr. LAURENS
saw the approaching crisis, and endeavored to arrest it. True to his
country, and fully assured of the firm determinations of his country-
men to resist oppression, he was anxious to avert the stroke which he
foresaw would rouse them to arms in self-defence. He united with
thirty-eight other Americans in a petition to the British Parliament
against the passage of the bill to shut up the port of Boston, and so
soon as he found the die was cast against his country, he hastened
his departure to Carolina, determined to take his share in the struggle
for freedom. Great efforts were made to induce him to remain in
England, but he would not listen to the persuasions of friends nor the
allurements of interest. When about to embark from Falmouth, he
wrote to Mr. Oswald, who was subsequently one of the negotiators for
peace, " Your ministers are deaf to information, and seem bent on pro-
voking unnecessary contest. I think I have acted the part of a faith-
ful subject. I now go resolved still to labor for peace ; at the same
time determined, in the last event, to stand or fall with my country."
To numerous friends in England he freely gave the assurance that
HENRY LAURENS.
America would not submit to the claims of the British Parliament ;
and on his landing at Charleston, in December 1774, he declared with
equal confidence that Britain would not recede, and that war was
inevitable. Much reliance was placed upon his opinion, and vigorous
preparations for defence were immediately commenced by the Caroli-
nians.
Mr. LAURENS was a member of the first Provincial Congress, held
at Charleston on the llth of January, 1775, and was elected president
of the Council of Safety, appointed by that body, with powers to carry
on the business of the Colony during the recess of the Congress. This
committee, or Council of Safety, were invested with full executive
powers ; they stamped money, raised troops, issued commissions to
officers, authorised an attempt on the Island of Providence for the ac-
quisition of military stores ; sent a talk to the Catawba Indians ; and
performed, indeed, all the functions of a regular government with ad-
mirable firmness, although they were well aware that their lives and
fortunes were at stake.
The well-known activity and promptness which had distinguished
Mr. LAURENS as a merchant, were equally valuable in him as a states-
man ; and the public business was despatched with vigor and sound
judgment until the establishment of a regular constitution in the State
of South Carolina, in March 1776. He was soon afterward elected a
member of Congress, of which he was appointed president on the 1st of
November, 1777. The station to which he was now elevated brought
him into intimate correspondence with Washington, and it may be re-
marked as one of the events of this period of his life, of equal import-
ance to his country and his own fame, that when the Commander-in-
chief was assailed by a malignant faction, which sought, by false and
anonymous suggestions, to obtain his removal, Mr. LAURENS remained
firm and steadfast in his attachment to Washington, and was the first
to expose the artifices of his opponents. The alliance with France,
and the efforts of the British ministry to neutralize its effects by send-
ing out commissioners to treat with the constituted authorities in
America, or with individuals, were also important events of the same
period.
In December, 1778, Mr. LAURENS resigned the chair of Congress.
In the following year he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to
Holland, for the purpose of forming a commercial treaty, and to obtain
loans. Some unofficial overtures had been previously received, and
even the plan of a treaty between the States general of Holland and
the United States had been communicated to Congress, which Mr.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
LAURENS was authorised to carry into effect. He sailed for Europe
in the summer of 1780, and was captured on his passage out by a
British frigate. He threw his papers overboard, but as they did not
immediately sink, they were recovered by the activity of a British
sailor, and disclosed the situation of aifairs between the two countries,
and led to the declaration of war against Holland when the demand
of the English minister for speedy satisfaction was not complied with.
Mr. LAURENS was carried to London, where he was examined be-
fore the Privy Council, and committed a close prisoner to the Tower
on the charge of high treason. There he was confined more than a
year, and was treated with great severity. No person was permitted
to speak to him, nor was he permitted to speak to any one ; he was
deprived of the use of pen and ink, and all intercourse by letters was
strictly prohibited. These strict orders were, however, relaxed after
a few weeks ; for the King's ministers were desirous of turning his in-
fluence to advantage, and they dared not to punish him capitally for
fear of retaliation.
One of his friends in London applied to the Secretary of State for
Mr. LAURENS'S liberation on parole, and offered his whole fortune as
security for his good conduct ; he was authorised to say to Mr. LAU-
RENS, that " if he would point out any thing for the benefit of Great
Britain in the present dispute with the Colonies, he should be en-
larged." This proposition was indignantly rejected. The same
friend soon after was permitted to visit him with another proposition,
the amount of which was, that he should remain in London, as the
ministers would have frequent occasion to consult him ; and that he
should write two or three lines to them, merely to say that he was
sorry for what had passed. " A pardon will be granted," said his
friend. " Every man has been wrong at some time or other of his
life, and should not be ashamed to acknowledge it." Mr. LAURENS
replied, " I will never subscribe to my own infamy, and to the dishonor
of my children."
Cut off from all social intercourse, he was only permitted to learn
the progress of events during his confinement from such newspapers
as announced the successes of the British arms, particularly in South
Carolina, after the surrender of Charleston ; or his own misfortune
in the sequestration of his estate by the conquerors. Still he remained
steadfast and unmoved.
In the course of the year 1781, it was intimated to Mr. LAURENS
that it would be advantageous to him if he would write to his son, Co-
lonel Laurens. then on a mission to the Court of France, and request
HENRY LAURENS.
him to withdraw from that country. But he replied, " My son is of
age, and has a will of his own ; if I should write to him in the terms
you request, it would have no effect, he would only conclude that
confinement and persuasion had softened me. I know him to be a
man of honor. He loves me dearly, and would lay down his life to
save mine ; but I am sure he would not sacrifice his honor to save my
life, and I applaud him."
Mr. LAURENS wrote with a pencil a request to the Secretary of
State for permission to use pen and ink, for the purpose of drawing a
bill of exchange on a merchant in London, who was in his debt, as he
was in want of means for his immediate support. To this application
no answer was returned. As soon as he had completed a year in the
Tower, he was called on to pay ninety-four pounds ten shillings ster-
ling to the two warders who had attended him ; but he replied, " I
will not pay the warders whom I never employed, and whose atten-
dance I shall be glad to dispense with." Three weeks afterward, ma-
terials were brought to him to write a bill of exchange, but they were
removed the moment that business was done.
Towards the end of the year 1781, the sufferings which Mr. LAU-
RENS had been compelled to endure in the Tower began to be gene-
rally known ; and elicited strong expressions of compassion in his fa-
vor, and censure against the authors of his confinement. But there
were difficulties in the way of his release not easy to be overcome.
He would make no concessions, nor consent to any act which implied
that he was a British subject ; as such he had been committed, on
a charge of high treason, but he regarded himself as a citizen of the
United States, — a prisoner of war. To extricate themselves from this
difficulty, Ministers proposed to take bail for his appearance at the
court of King's Bench. When the words of the recognizance,
" Our sovereign lord the King," were read to Mr. LAURENS, he replied
in open court, " Not my sovereign ! !" Notwithstanding that, he, with
Mr. Oswald and Mr. Anderson as his securities, was bound for his ap-
pearance at the next court of King's Bench for Easter term, and for not
departing without leave of the Court, on which he was immediately
released. When the time drew near for his appearance at court, he
was not only discharged from all obligations to attend, but was solicit-
ed by Lord Shelbourne to assist, by his presence on the continent, at
the negotiations for peace which were then in progress. He proceeded
to Paris, and there signed the preliminaries of peace on the 30th of
November, 1782, in conjunction with Dr. Franklin, John Adams, and
John Jay.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Mr. LAURENS soon after returned to Carolina, with a constitution
broken by the rigorous confinement of more than fourteen months in
the Tower, and he never afterwards enjoyed good health. His coun-
trymen rejoiced at his return, and proffered every mark of honor in
their power to bestow ; but he declined all solicitations to suffer them
to elect him governor, a member of congress, or of the legislature of the
state. He was, without his consent, elected a member of the conven-
tion for the revision of the federal constitution, but declined serving.
He retired from all public business, and interested himself only in
promoting the welfare and happiness of his family and dependents,
by various agricultural experiments, and the improvement of the so-
ciety of his friends and neighbors.
His health gradually declined, and on the 8th of December, 1792,
near the close of his 69th year, he expired. His will concluded with
the following remarkable request, which was literally complied with :
" I solemnly enjoin it on my son, as an indispensable duty, that as
soon as he conveniently can after my decease, he cause my body to be
wrapped in twelve yards of tow-cloth, and burnt until it be entirely
consumed, and then, collecting my bones, deposite them wherever he
may think proper."
THEN EW
PUBLIC LIBRARY
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CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY.
"For these are the men, that when they have played their parts and had their exits, must
step out, and give the moral of their scenes : and deliver unto posterity an inventory of their
virtues and vices." SIR THOMAS BROWNE.
GENERAL CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY was one of that race,
or order of men, who are now nearly, if not quite, extinct in South
Carolina. He lived at that fortunate period when a classical and
highly-finished education was deemed indispensable, not only for him
who had his own fortune to build up, but also for him who had a
fortune to spend. The direct trade between the Mother country and
the Province, created by the valuable staple products of Rice and
Indigo, put it in the power of the planters of South Carolina to send
their sons to England with remarkable facility. In proportion, there-
fore, to population and extent of territory, the number of her young
men educated in the English universities far exceeded that of- any
other of the Colonies. Thus, at the very commencement of our dis-
putes with the Mother country she possessed a band of learned,
intelligent, and accomplished gentlemen, fit either for the council or
the field ; and whose knowledge of the true principles of constitu-
tional liberty gave that high tone to public sentiment, which mainly
contributed to bear the people triumphant through that terrible period,
which was truly and emphatically said to have " tried men's souls."
Among those patriotic men, the subject of this memoir stood in the
very first rank ; and we shall now attempt to give a brief sketch of his
life, which was long, useful, and honorable to his country.
The ancestor of General PINCKNEY came over to South Caro-
lina in the year 1692. From him descended CHARLES, commonly
known by the name of Chief Justice Pinckney, a man of great
integrity, and of considerable eminence under the Provincial govern-
ment. The Chief Justice was twice married. His second wife was
Eliza Lucas, daughter of George Lucas, a Colonel in the British
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
army and Governor of Antigua ; and on the 25th day of February,
1746, she gave birth to General PINCKNEY at Charleston. In the year
1753, being then seven years old, he was taken over to England by
his father, with his brother, the late Major-general Thomas Pinclcney.
The Chief Justice was one of those sensible men who valued educa-
tion and moral discipline as far beyond the mere advantages of
wealth, and he resolved, even though it might impair the patrimony
of his sons, to buy it for them at the highest cost. Accordingly, in
his will he enjoins that they shall be thoroughly educated before re-
turning to America ; and that in case the income of his estate proved
inadequate, a portion of the estate itself must be sold to accomplish
this great object of his parental solicitude.
After five years of private tuition, General PINCKNEY was consi-
dered as well fitted for Westminster, and in 1758 he was placed by his
father at that celebrated school, then under the care of a very distin-
guished scholar, Doctor Markham, who was afterwards advanced to
the See of York. There his industry and good conduct won the es-
teem of the master ; while he there, too, imbibed that classical taste
and love of study, which, during an unusually long and eventful life,
constituted both its ornament and its solace. That he stood high in
the estimation of the master, may be inferred from the following fact.
An occurrence in the school having, on investigation, produced much
contradictory evidence, Doctor Markham. addressing young PINCK-
NEY, said, " I know the strictness of your principles and your at-
tachment to truth : speak, PINCKNEY ! my decision shall be guided
by your sentiment." From Westminster he was removed, in due
course, to Christ Church, Oxford, where he had the acute Doctor
Cyril Jackson as his private tutor. Judge Blackstone was then the
Law lecturer; and as the best evidence of General PINCKNEY'S at-
tention and assiduity to that branch of his studies, he has left behind
him four large volumes of manuscript, containing those celebrated
lectures, which, with a diligence extraordinary in so young a man, he
had written down at the time. With so much application and perse-
verance, knowledge could not be wooed in vain ; and he consequently
left Oxford with the reputation of being a fine scholar at the early
age of eighteen. From that ancient university he entered as a law
student at the Temple, where, having done something more than eat
the usual number of dinners, he returned to South Carolina in 1769,
having, during the last year, visited France and Germany, and devot-
ing nine months to military studies at the Royal Academy of Caen
in Normandy.
CHARLES C. PINCKNEY.
Sixteen years of absence had not impaired, or in the slightest
degree weakened, his affection for his native soil. While in Eng-
land he had keenly participated in the indignation felt at the passage of
the Stamp Act ; and a portrait taken of him at that time for his friend
Sir Matthew Ridley, represents him in the act of arguing vehemently
against that arbitrary measure. It has been declared by his contem-
poraries, that on his return from England he appeared before them
at once as a remarkable young man. His elegant literary attain-
ment— his sound legal knowledge — his high sense of all that was
held honorable in the eyes of men, united to the most distinguished
manners, impressed on those who knew him the certainty of his future
success and elevation.
His commission to practise in the Provincial Courts is dated
January 19th, 1770, and he very soon began to acquire business and
reputation. It is worthy of notice, as showing the estimation in which
he was held by his legal brethren, that he was appointed by Sir
Egerton Lee, (his Majesty's Attorney General of the Province,) under
a full and formal commission, to act as his substitute on Circuit in the
District and Precinct courts of Camden, Georgetown, and Cheraws.
This was in 1773, when General PINCKNEY was still a young man :
and when we consider the high estimate of their profession by the
English lawyers of that day, most of them being not only men of
learning and accomplishments, but likewise of high birth and descent,
this appointment may be taken as evidence of extraordinary merit.
His professional pursuits, with all its emoluments and the expectation
of its high reward, was, however, doomed to a sudden blight. The
gathering storm of the Revolutionary war burst on the plains of
Lexington. It struck on the ear of the patriots of South Carolina, and
they at once resolved to prepare for that bloody and unnatural con-
flict with England, which was now seen to be inevitable.
Accordingly a meeting of the Provincial Congress was summoned
by the Committee of Safety to be held in the city of Charleston. It
assembled on the first day of June, 1 775, and it was almost instantly
decided to raise two regiments of infantry, of five hundred men each.
The military ardor at this moment was so great, that the first fami-
lies of the Province eagerly contended for appointments, and the num-
ber of cadidates far exceeded the demand. In the midst of this band
of gallant spirits, the abilities of General PINCKNEY were seen and
acknowledged, and he was elected captain in the first regiment, ap-
pearing highest on the list. His Colonel was that firm republican,
old Christopher Gadsden. He immediately proceeded on the re-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
cruiling service, and fixed his quarters at Ncwbern in North Caro-
lina. Whilst there, he proved his discernment and intrepidity of
purpose, by advising the arrest of two suspicious persons, who came
under the assumed garb of settlers. Their personal appearance and
easy address convinced him that they were not what they would
seem to be. He waited on the Committee of Public Safety, and hav-
ing1 declared his reasons for believing that the strangers were hostile
o o CJ
to the interests of the country, recommended their instant arrest.
Unfortunately, the members of the Committee were timid, and refused
to follow his advice. The event proved the soundness of his judg-
ment. The strangers left Newbern for Cross Creek, and almost im-
mediately excited the Scotch settlers, their countrymen, to arm in sup-
port of the Royal Government. General Moore was sent against
them, and they were defeated. The younger of the strangers escaped ;
his name was McDonald. The other, who proved to be a veteran
officer, of the name of McLeod, was killed. Having completed
the recruiting service, he joined his regiment in Charleston, which
was soon after placed on the Continental establishment by a resolu-
tion of Congress. In a short time General PINCKNEY obtained the
command of the first regiment — its Colonel, Christopher Gadsden, be
ing made a Brigadier, and its Lieutenant-Colonel and Major having
been transferred to the command of other regiments.
The glorious defence of Fort Moultrie, and the signal defeat of the
British fleet in its attack on that post, gave a calm, and long respite to
the people of South Carolina from the horrors of war. The power
of England then bore heavily on the States of New- York and Penn-
sylvania. Burning with ardor to distinguish himself in the field,
General PINCKNEY hastened to join the Northern army. He was
cordially received by General Washington, who appointed him an
aid-de-camp ; and in this capacity he was present at the battle of
Brandywine, and the bloody affair at Germantown. The impression
then made by him on the mind of the Commander-in-chief was of
the most durable kind. It was exhibited throughout many years of
friendship and of confidence, and on many interesting occasions, and
only ceased with life itself. To one of his quick and energetic spirit,
the opportunity which he now possessed of increasing his military
knowledge, both as to science and discipline, it is reasonable to sup-
pose was not allowed to escape unimproved.
On the first intimation of danger to the South, General PINCKNEY
returned to take the command of his regiment. The State of Geor-
gia about tlu's period was greatly harassed by Tories, and repeated
CHARLES C. PINCKNEY.
inroads of vagabonds from Florida. It was indispensable to make an
effort to save her from total ruin. Major-general Howe, of North
Carolina, who commanded the Southern Division, required the aid of
the South Carolina forces, and General PINCKNEY was ordered on to
join Howe in Georgia. This service was short, but severe. The
army had to move about, and drive the enemy at a season of the year
when exposure to the climate was sure to produce sickness, if not
death. The soldiers were wretchedly provided, not only as to camp
equipage, but even as to food. In a letter written at Fort Howe on
the Altamaha, addressed to General Moultrie at Charleston, General
PINCKNEY describes the sufferings of the men as almost intolerable.
Ten and twelve were crowded into one small tent, and many were
left uncovered, to sleep under the heavy and deadly dews of the Geor-
gia skies. The Continental troops, which, at the beginning, counted
eleven hundred strong, were in the course of two months reduced to
only three hundred and fifty men fit for duty. About midsummer
General PINCKNEY got back to Charleston, after three months of
the hardest service, rendered more acute by the reflection, that
disease, and not the weapons of their enemies, had destroyed his
soldiers. The sudden dash of Provost at Charleston, the subsequent
invasion of Georgia, and the assault on the lines of Savannah, all
contributed to bring out into bold relief General PINCKNEY'S fine
qualities as a soldier. In the language of a brother officer, " his pa-
tient submission to the severities of service, his determined resolution
and calm intrepidity, gave decided increase to his military reputation."
The campaigns of 1778 and '79, in the North, having reflected but
little lustre on the British arms, Sir Henry Clinton consoled himself
with the idea of making easy and brilliant conquests in the Southern
and weaker States. Accordingly he prepared and fitted out a very
powerful land and naval force for the capture of Charleston. The
Royal army, in great strength, on the llth of February, 1780, landed
about thirty miles from the city. So feeble was the garrison at that
moment, that, had the British army pushed on immediately to the city,
it must have fallen almost without a blow ; but Sir Henry Clinton
preferred the slow method of a siege. The six Continental regiments
in the Carolina establishment were at this time reduced to ei^ht him-
~
dred men. The North Carolina and Virginia Continentals, about fif-
teen hundred strong, were ordered on by Congress : but of this number
not more than seven hundred entered the city. Nevertheless, with
this feeble garrison, and besieged both by land and water, it was
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
unanimously determined, in a full house of assembly, to defend the
town to the last extremity.
General PINCKNEY at this critical period, with three hundred men,
was stationed in command at Fort Moultrie. It was a post of honor,
and his heart must have throbbed with exultation as he thought of
Moultrie's victory in June, '76 ; and that now fortune had brought him
his turn, either to show the flag of his country waving in triumph,
or to make it his winding-sheet. But his eager anticipations were
disappointed. The British admiral Arbuthnot, taking advantage of
a strong southerly wind and flood tide, swept rapidly by Fort Moultrie
without stopping to engage it.
General PINCKNEY, however, opened a heavy and brisk fire on the
ships as they passed under full sail, by which they received consider-
able damage, and twenty seamen were killed and wounded. Deter-
mined to share the fate of Charleston, he soon afterwards withdrew
with a part of his garrison, and entered the city. A council of war
was assembled for the purpose of deliberating on a capitulation,
and it was then that General PINCKNEY displayed that boldness and
decision of mind which belongs only to a man of great character.
Rising with great composure and dignity of manner, he exclaimed,
" I will not say, if the enemy attempt to carry our lines by storm, that
we shall be able to resist them successfully : but am convinced we
shall so cripple the army before us, that although we may not live to
enjoy the benefits ourselves, yet to the United States they will prove
incalculably great. Considerations of self are out of the question.
They cannot influence any member of this council. My voice is for
rejecting all terms of capitulation, and for continuing hostilities to the
last extremity." This magnanimous proposition, although supported
by Lieut. Colonel Laurens, was not adopted.
Charleston finally capitulated in May 1780, after a close investiture
both by land and water of three months. General PINCKNEY was
then removed to Haddrel's Point, about two miles from the city, with
a large number of other prisoners. At this post they bore incredible
privations. Without clothing, credit, or money, their sufferings be-
came so extreme, that the Continental officers of the South Carolina
and Georgia lines appointed General PINCKNEY to draw a memorial
to Congress describing their condition. It is stated in this paper, that
during their long captivity they had never received more than nine
days' pay from their country.
The well-known influence of General PINCKNEY — his abilities —
his zeal in the cause of liberty, and the boldness displayed in main-
CHARLES C. PINCKNEY.
taining his principles, made him in a peculiar degree the object of
British severity. After enduring an obstinate intermittent fever for
several months, he was at last allowed by the Commandant of Charles-
ton, to come over to the city, on the declaration of the British physi-
cian, Doctor McNamara Hayes, that it was indispensable for the
restoration of his health. Yet, four days after the permission had
been granted, the same officer suddenly ordered him to return to
Haddrel's Point, although his only son was at that instant lying dead
in the house ; and he was forced to compliance.
Nothing, however, could shake the firmness of his soul — oppression
might drive the iron into it, but could not weaken its integrity.
Threats and temptations were alternately used, but in vain. To
Major Money of the British army, he wrote in the following bold and
eloquent strain. " I entered into this cause after reflection, and
through principle. My heart is altogether American, and neither
severity, nor favor, nor poverty, nor affluence, can ever induce me to
swerve from it." To Captain McMahon, another British officer, he
emphatically says, " The freedom and independence of my country
are the Gods of my idolatry."
It was during this period that the discussion between Major Barry,
of the British army, and himself occurred on some points relating to
the exchange of prisoners. Barry having quoted Grotius in support
of his side of the question, General PINCKNEY promptly declared, that
the opinions of that great jurist were in direct opposition to what had
been stated. Reference was made to the author, when Major Barry
was obliged to confess his error, lamenting " that he had not
studied the passage with his usual accuracy."
At length he received the intelligence of his exchange, when it was
too late to be of much value to him, in a letter from General Mclntosh,
dated at Philadelphia, 19th February, 1782. The war was then
really at an end by the capture of Lord Cornwallis. Soon after he
was raised to brevet rank as Brigadier ; his commission is dated at
Princeton, 1783, General Lincoln then acting as Secretary at War.
On the return of peace, General PINCKNEY resumed the practice of law,
his fortune having been much impaired. Time and casualties had
swept away most of the old and learned members of the bar. He
found in their place a new set of young men, clever, but of imper-
fect education — the war having broken the regular course of study.
He, with a few more, might have ruled as monarchs of the bar ; but
his generous spirit disdained to profit by the weakness of others. He
preferred to introduce a simple, liberal, and intelligible mode of prac-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tice, stripping off all useless subtleties and technical rules, and endea-
voured to make the profession what it should be, enlightened and
honorable in the eyes of the community. His business was large,
and its profits commensurate, — reaching in one year the amount of
four thousand guineas, a considerable sum for that day. A nice
sense of honor made him discriminate in his cases, and it was not
every one that offered, that he would take. He never forgot the in-
junction of his venerable father, to which his own generous heart
involuntarily responded, to be the friend of the widow and the father-
less. From these he never would take compensation ; and he carried
into his profession the spirit of chivalry itself, which he exhibited on
one remarkable occasion, and to which the writer of this sketch is not
at liberty to do more than to allude. During this period he was
more than once solicited by General Washington to enter into his
cabinet. He was offered a place on the Supreme Bench ; then the
post of Secretary at War, as the successor of General Knox ; after-
wards that of Secretary of State, on the removal of Mr. Randolph.
He steadily and consistently, for reasons satisfactory to his own mind,
declined these honors, and stated finally in reply, " That whenever
the President should call him to the performance of any public duty,
to which private considerations ought to yield, and should say to him
£ that he must accept,' all private obligations should cease."
This pledge he redeemed by accepting the mission to France,
which General Washington, in a letter from Mount Vernon, July Sth,
1796, pressed on him in language that did honor to both. On this
occasion his characteristic energy and decision was manifested. In
a very few days after having notified his acceptance of the appoint-
ment, he embarked for Philadelphia and thence for Bordeaux. He
arrived in Paris the 5th day of December ; but on the way had to
submit to the national welcome of the Poissardes, who, a post and a
half from the city, stopped his carriage, and opening the door, insisted
on the American ambassador's giving them the fraternal embrace.
On the next day he transmitted, by his Secretary of Legation,
Major Henry Rutledge, to Mr. Monroe, his letters of recal ; and a few
days afterwards made his first and only visit to the Secretary of
Foreign Affairs, Monsieur De La Croix, whose reception of him was
cold and inauspicious.
The Directory had already determined not to receive him as mi-
nister of the United States, and accordingly Monsieur De La Croix
addressed a note to Mr. Monroe, with whom the French government
was still in correspondence, in these terms : — " The Directory has
8
CHARLES C. PINCKNEY.
charged me to notify you, that it will not acknowledge nor receive
another Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States until after
the redress of the grievances demanded of the American government."
This official insult, which must have been galling in the extreme, was
borne with a serenity and dignity of mind that proved him fit to be
an ambassador.
General PINCKNEY'S sound judgment warned him, that on the
very threshold of his embassy, prudence and duty both required that
he should show the temper of forbearance. The interests of his
country, her attachment, and proper feeling of gratitude towards an
ancient ally, whose powerful arm had stretched across the Atlantic,
and supported her in the dark hour of trial — all united to impress
upon him the strongest disposition for peace. The moment had not
yet arrived for him to vindicate his own high courage and the Ame-
rican people, in that noble sentiment which afterwards burst from his
lips, and has become familiar as our household words.
" MILLIONS FOR DEFENCE, NOT A CENT FOR TRIBUTE."
The position of General PINCKNEY in the French capital was criti-
cal, and was well calculated to fill him with anxiety. He thus speaks
of it in a letter to Colonel Pickering — " My situation, as you may easily
conceive, is unpleasant ; but if I can ultimately render any services to
my country, I shall be fully compensated : at all events it shall be
my study to avoid increasing the discontent of this government,
without committing the honor, dignity, and respect, due to my own."
On the 5th of February, after being two months in Paris, he left it
by an order from the Directory, having, by his patience and firmness,
finally compelled them to address a note to himself, of which the fol-
lowing is an extract : — " Le Directoire executif Monsieur m'a charge
de vous faire savoir que n'ayant point obtenu de permission particu-
lier, pour resider a Paris vous etes soumis a la loi qui oblige les
etrangers a quitter le territoire de la Republique."
DE LA CROIX.
General PINCKNEY having obtained what he desired in this pe-
remptory mandate, immediately left the territory of France, and re-
tired to Holland to await the instructions of the American government.
President Washington empowered Judge Marshall and Elbridge
Gerry to join General PINCKNEY in Holland, and forthwith proceed
with him to Paris ; and there, as Envoys Extraordinary, endeavor to
settle all existing difficulties. Success did not follow this new and
sincere effort towards reconciliation. Our limits ibrbid enlarging on
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
this portion of General PINCKNEY'S diplomatic career. It is suffi-
cient to remark, that it was satisfactory to the government and the
country. His colleague, General Marshall, and himself, returned to
the United States, leaving Mr. Gerry in France, who, as it appears
from the correspondence of the day, was persuaded to this step by
citizen Talleyrand, for the purpose of conducting a separate negoti-
ation between the two nations. President Adams, however, did not
sanction this conduct on the part of Gerry, and he received a positive
letter of recal from the Secretary of State, dated Jan. 25, 1798.
The spirit of the nation was now justly excited, and when General
PINCKNEY arrived in America, he found the tone of public sentiment
strong for hostilities. On the 12th of October, 1798, he landed at
Paulas Hook, where he was received by a large concourse of citizens,
who greeted him with enthusiastic cheers. The yellow fever was
then raging in New- York, and he was compelled to proceed to the
town of Newark with his family. He there received a letter from
James McHenry, dated October 17th, 1798, enclosing his commission
as a Major-general in the army of the United States, which was being
put on the war establishment. It contained the following well-me-
rited and just compliment to his patriotism : " The readiness you have
expressed to accept of your appointment, after so long an absence
from home and your private affairs, is extremely satisfactory ; and
will, I am sure, be folly estimated by the President and your country."
When President Adams appointed Washington to the command of
the army, he also left to his judgment the selection of the other supe-
rior officers. The appointment, therefore, of General PINCKNEY is
another strong proof of the continued friendship and confidence of
Washington in his patriotism and abilities. The relative rank of the
Major-generals stood thus : Washington — Alexander Hamilton —
CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY — Henry Knox. Hamilton, du-
ring the war of the Revolution, was the junior of General PINCKNEY.
This circumstance being pointed out to him by a gentleman of his
acquaintance, who laid much stress on the injustice and partiality of
this preference, General PINCKNEY gave this memorable reply,
worthy of a Themistocles or a Scipio : — " I am confident that Gene-
ral Washington had sufficient reasons for this preference. Let us
first dispose of our enemies, we shall then have leisure to settle the
question of rank."
Hostilities did not break out, and he once more retired to the calm
and elegant enjoyments of a home, of which his social powers and
polished manners formed one of the most graceful ornaments.
10
CHARLES C. PINCKNEY.
It is fact well understood, that if General PINCKNEY, in the year
1800, when the great struggle of parties happened, could have con-
sented to unite his name with that of Mr. Jeiferson, he would have
been either President or Vice President of the United States. But,
true to himself, true to his principles, consistent in all things, he
would not, even to win the first office in the gift of the people, and
gratify the inclination of his native State, agree to a measure that
might seem to compromise his integrity. General PINCKNEY was a
member of the enlightened assembly that formed the Constitution of
the United States. Again his was one of the leading minds in the
State Convention that framed the Constitution of 1790.
. In the South Carolina State Convention of 1778 he exhibited not only
very vigorous, but likewise liberal powers of mind. He forcibly and
successfully sustained, in that convention, a proposition of the Rev.
William Tennant to secure liberty and equality to all Protestant
sects ; and as he was a strict Episcopalian, it is but just to infer that
he acted or argued from conviction, and not indifference. The uni-
form respect with which he treated the clergy of all denominations
endeared him to them ; and is evinced in the fact, that Christians of
every sect united in choosing him the first President of the Bible
Society of Charleston, and they continued him in that honorable sta-
tion for fifteen years, to the period of his death.
General PINCKNEY was a considerable landholder in the city of
Charleston. He had numerous tenants living on his property, and to
all of them he was forbearing and compassionate ; often submitting
to the loss of his just dues rather than resort to the rigors of the law.
Indeed, his benevolence was of the most enlarged character, and was
i O J
experienced not only by the poor, and such as were dependent on
him, but in his liberal support of churches, seminaries of learning,
and every object of public utility. His hospitality was unbounded,
and was of- that princely sort, that it did honor to South Carolina.
How many foreigners, how many Americans, are now living to whom
such a reminiscence ought to be familiar? His conversation was
singularly instructive and amusing, for he had both seen and thought
much ; and the ease and frankness of his manners invited the approach
of all who chose to participate in its pleasures. His own library was
extensive ; but the valuable collection of his father, together with
many manuscripts and interesting family documents, were burnt by
the army of General Provost at a country-seat near Charleston, at the
time of his forced march on the city — a loss which General PINCK^-
NEY oftentimes lamented. His appetite for reading was great. NOT
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
thing in the shape of a book escaped his attention. He read from
the moment he arose in the morning ; that is, a page or a few sen-
tences at a time, while he walked about his chamber and dressed ;
his intellect was constantly exercised.
General PINCKNEY, as he advanced in life, applied himself to the
sciences — Chemistry and Botany became his favorite pursuits; and
such was his thirst for knowledge, that, while on his embassy to
France, he seized that opportunity of listening to the lectures of the
celebrated Fourcroy. At his country residence (Pinckney Island, a
most enchanting spot) he had an apartment fitted up as a laboratory,
containing an excellent Philosophical apparatus ; and there he amused
himself during several hours of every morning in winter.
In person General PINCKNEY did not exceed the ordinary stature.
His form was round, muscular, and closely knit ; and admirably con-
structed for exercise and durability. His countenance was mark-
ed, and highly expressive of almost every variety of emotion ;
but in repose, particularly towards the close of his life, it wore the
character of majesty ; and no one could look upon it without feeling
the inspiration of the profoundest veneration.
If the eye, as has been beautifully said, be the mirror of the soul, in
his might have been clearly read — courage — benevolence — honor —
truth ; and. indeed, all these were the predominant qualities illustrated
in his life. No man ever enjoyed in a higher degree the confidence
of his fellow-citizens. His acknowledged gallantry of spirit — his dis-
dain of all selfish, narrow, and dishonorable conduct — his public
and private munificence — his readiness at all times to maintain the
common-weal, and those great principles of constitutional liberty for
which he had fought and suffered so much, endeared him to all men ;
and during the bitter conflicts of party, like the bright and impenetra-
ble helmet of Minerva, preserved his head from every hostile touch.
Such is the brief and imperfect narrative of the career of this wise
and virtuous man, who was honored in his generation, and is now
gratefully remembered by posterity. General P,INCKNEY was twice
married. His first wife was Sarah, daughter of Henry Middleton,
second President of Congress. Of this marriage three daughters sur-
vived him. The second wife was a descendant of Sir Nathaniel
Johnson, one of the Proprietory Governors of South Carolina. She
died without children. General PINCKNEY expired in Charleston on
the 16th August 1825, with the fortitude of a Christian philosopher,
in his eightieth year. J. L.
12
ICUB1
«*
JOSEPH HABERSHAM
COLONEL JOSEPH HABERSHAM was born at Savannah, in Georgia, on
the 28th of July, 1751. His father, James Habersham, was a native
of Yorkshire, England, and accompanied his friend, the Rev. George
Whitefield, to Georgia in the year 1738. There he soon became the
President of the Orphan House, or Bethesda College, established by
the exertions of Mr. Whitefield ; for which charge he was well quali-
fied, by his literary, as well as moral and religious character and
habits. He was afterwards appointed one of the King's Council in
the Colony, and subsequently its President and acting Governor, in
the absence of Sir James Wright, in which situation he remained
until his death, a few months before the expulsion of the Royal au-
thority from Georgia, in the year 1776. Although foreign to our
subject, it is but justice to the memory of President Habersham to re-
mark, that, while in office, his letters pointed out to the ministry the
grievances under whi^Iythe Colony was laboring from the pernicious
and oppressive acts of the British Parliament, the growing spirit of
liberty among the people, and warned them of the consequences of
perseverance in oppression. Faithful to his duties, but independent
in their exercise, after a life devoted to the service and improvement
of his adopted country, he was saved, by death, from seeing that
country "made a desolation," his fair possessions wasted, and his
sons denounced as traitors. Of these sons there were three, James,
JOSEPH, and John, who all engaged with zeal in the Revolution ; and,
regardless of consequences, rejecting and despising all offers of Royal
clemency, continued to the end the unflinching friends and active
supporters of the republican cause.
JOSEPH, the second son, and subject of this notice, was educated at
Princeton College, in New Jersey. Of quick and ardent temper, brave
and chivalrous almost to excess, a pupil of Witherspoon, and with the
independent spirit which he had inherited from his father, it seems to
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
have been almost a matter of course that he should have taken an
early, active, and decided part in the excited feelings and deeply in-
teresting movements of the times. Accordingly, on the 27th July, 1774,
at the age of twenty-three, we find him a member of the first commit-
tee appointed by the friends of liberty in Georgia ; which, in defiance
of the proclamation of Governor Wright, continued to co-operate with
similar committees in the northern Provinces, and to excite the people to
resistance. When we recollect, in connexion with this fact, that his father
was, at that moment, the second officer of the King in the Province, and
high in favor, the prominent part which Colonel HABERSHAM took in
these proceedings exhibits a deep devotion to the cause of his country,
which no influence of others, or considerations of a personal nature,
could restrain. In the following year, and while his father was still
alive and in office, we again find his name recorded among those of a
small party of the Republicans, who broke open the magazine, took
out the powder, and sent a large portion of it to Beaufort, in South
Carolina, for the use of the patriots. In the month of June of the
same year he was appointed one of the council of safety ; and in July,
commanded a party of volunteers which went down the river in
boats, captured a government ship which had just arrived with mu-
nitions of war for the royal troops, and took out the cargo, includ-
ing 15,000 pounds of powder, a portion of which was afterwards
sent to the north and used by the American army before Boston.
On the 18th day of January of the ever-memorable year 1776, Colo-
nel HABERSHAM, who was at that time a member of the assembly,
raised a party of volunteers, took Governor Wright prisoner, and con-
fined him to his house under a guard. The Governor effected his
escape, however, from this prison in a few weeks, took refuge on
board of a British vessel of war then in the river, and never after-
wards landed in Georgia.
Active hostilities were now fairly commenced in the province. By
a resolution of the General Assembly the first battalion of Georgia
Continental troops was raised ; and on the 4th of February, 1776,
Colonel, then Mr. HABERSHAM, was appointed Major of that battalion.
In this command he did not remain idle ; for, early in March, the
British armed squadron came up the river Savannah to recover pos-
session of the town, which attempt failed. In the defence, Colonel HA-
BERSHAM, at the head of a company of riflemen, bore a distinguished
part. In fact, he appears at this time to have been prominently en-
gaged on every occasion in which danger was to be encountered, or
the royal authority resisted.
JOSEPH HABERSHAM.
After the expulsion of Governor Wright, and of the British forces
from Georgia, that Province enjoyed a few months of comparative
quiet ; during which, on the 19th of May, 1776, Colonel HABERSHAM
married Isabella Rae, the daughter of Robert Rae, and sister-in-law of
General Samuel Elbert. Upon the taking of Savannah, in the winter of
1778, and the re-establishment of the Royal Government in Georgia,
Colonel HABERSHAM removed his family to Virginia for safety ; but
his zeal in the cause of his country did not permit him to retire from
its service, and accordingly, upon the landing of Count De Estaing
in Georgia, to co-operate with General Lincoln in the reduction of
Savannah, he was selected as the officer to guide the French army
from the sea-board, and was engaged in the combined attack upon
his native city, so disastrous in its results. After the failure of this
attack, and the retreat of the American and French armies from the
State, Savannah, and nearly the whole of Georgia, remained in pos-
session of the British, and so continued to the end of the war.
At the close of the Revolution, Colonel HABERSHAM returned to
private life with a broken fortune, but rich in the respect and affection of
a free and independent people. In the ever-memorable contest which
had just closed, it would be invidious to claim for Colonel HABER-
SHAM either a peculiar strength of patriotism or of devotion to the
cause of the Revolution ; thousands, like him, had perilled life and
fortune in that Revolution ; but when we reflect that his father was
high in office, and in the confidence of the King ; that he himself,
if the Royal authority was preserved, had every prospect of enjoying
like confidence and distinction ; that the very weakness of the Pro-
vince gave, in the beginning, but little hope of effectual resistance ;
and that, in the event of failure, he would, from these very circum-
stances, become a marked object of Royal vengeance ; surely we may
be entitled to claim for him more than a common share of devoted
patriotism — and such was the portion awarded to him by his native
State. In the year 1785 he was elected Speaker of the General As-
sembly ; and in 1790 was again honored with the same distinction.
In the year 1795 Colonel HABERSHAM was called, by Washington,
to the distinguished station of Post-Master-General of the United
States ; and we require no better proof of the able and faithful manner
in which he discharged his duties, than the fact that he retained that
office, not only to the close of the administration of Washington, but
throughout that of the elder Adams. At a period when so many,
from great and devoted service to the country, had claims to office ;
and these claims, well-known and appreciated ; and when the selec-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tion was made by Washington, this appointment was the best evidence
of his great merit, and the general estimation in which he was held.
In this office, as has been already stated, he continued until the ac-
cession of Mr. Jefferson to the presidency ; but he retained the office
so long, by no cringing or truckling to the higher authorities ; for the
president, Mr. Adams, having told him that the post-office department
was an Augean stable, and must be cleansed — meaning that the post-
masters who were of the opposite party must be removed ; Colonel
HABERSHAM replied, that these officers had discharged their duty
faithfully, and that, therefore, he would not remove them, but that
the president could remove the post-master-general. This, however,
Mr. Adams, it seems, did not think proper to do.
The principle, however, which Colonel HABERSHAM refused to
act upon was soon after made to act upon him. When Mr. Jefferson
became the president, a polite note was addressed to Colonel HABER-
SHAM, tendering to him the office of Treasurer of the United States.
This offer was received as, no doubt, it was intended to be, an inti-
mation to him to resign the office of post-master-general, which he
immediately did, and returned to Georgia.
Upon the establishment of a branch of the old Bank of the United
States in Savannah, Colonel HABERSHAM was appointed the President,
which office he continued to hold until the expiration of the charter.
The few remaining years of his life were devoted to honorable efforts
to repair the ruins of that fortune which had been broken by the
Revolution, and in preparation for the close of that life, the greater
portion of which had been devoted to the service of his country. His
death occurred in his native city, on the 17th day of November in
the year 1815, and in the sixty-fifth year of his age.
We have said that Colonel HABERSHAM was quick and ardent in
temper ; but, although quick to take offence, he was ready and anxious
to make atonement for the slightest wrong — kind and indulgent to
his slaves, humane and liberal to the poor, strict in the performance
of all his contracts ; tenacious of his own, as he had been of the rights
of his country. Allowing to others the same independent and frank
expression of opinion which he always exercised for himself, he may
with truth be pronounced to have been a fair specimen of that noble,
generous, and chivalric race who achieved the liberty and indepen-
dence of our happy country.
THENEWYORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOS, LtHOX AND
TILCEN FOUNDATION*.
'..-., .
GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE.
To form a correct estimate of the services of GEORGE ROGERS
CLARKE, we must examine the extensive outline of the British pos-
sessions in North America at the commencement of the Revolution-
ary war ; we must turn our attention from the broad field of contest,
stretching along the Atlantic, where the sovereignty of the elder States
was lost and won. and trace the links of that chain which galled the
Northern and Western frontiers of the United States during the war
for Independence,- but which were broken in succession by a series of
gallant exploits, that ultimately secured the extensive western domain
of the republic, and gave existence to the new States on the Ohio
and Mississippi. We must become acquainted with the horrors of
Indian warfare as it was waged upon those, who at that time were
the pioneers of the far West. We must seek the origin, and no-
tice, at least in part, the execution of the savage policy of the British
ministry, which drew from the venerable Earl of Chatham those
bursts of indignant eloquence, which have rendered his name fami-
liar to every schoolboy in America. Then it will be seen, that the
object of that barbarous and cruel policy, or whatever else it might
have been, which let loose the tomahawk and scalping knife upon the
frontier settlers of the States, which the immortal senator denounced,
was severely chastised and checked, if not defeated, by the energy and
prowess of CLARKE, at the head of a mere handful of brave back-
woodsmen.
From the first settlement of the Colonies in America, whether by
the Spaniards, French, or English, all had availed themselves of the
divisions amongst the aboriginal tribes, their thirst for revenge, their
love of the fierce excitements of war, and their credulity ; and sought,
first, to attach those tribes nearest to their settlements to themselves,
and then set them on to destroy their enemies. The wars and na-
tional animosities of Europe were transferred with the Colonists to
the American wilderness. All the barbarities of Indian warfare
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
were tolerated and frequently rewarded.* The red men were stimu-
lated to destroy each other, and to shed the blood of white men, and
to spare not ; and when even the Europeans were at peace among
themselves, base and mercenary individuals of their race availed them-
selves of their intercourse with the Indian tribes to rouse them to
deeds of violence. We do not say that contention could have been
always avoided, had the short-sighted policy of the whites been of a
more humane and consistent character. The very growth and ex-
tension of the Colonies would have created jealousy in the hunters of
the forest, and a consequent effort to check the intrusion. The
interests and habits of civilized and savage life, when they interfere
with each other, must lead sooner or later to collision arid strife ; and
to terminate the consequent evils once for all, extermination or sepa-
ration are the alternatives. The former has been extensively prac-
tised upon, but the latter has been for many years the grand scheme
of the republic.
At the termination of the French war, in 1763, Great Britain held
the vast tract of country which extends north and east of the Gulf of
Mexico and the Mississippi — from the Atlantic Ocean to the unex-
plored regions of the Frozen Sea. The wars between the French and
English for the possession of Canada, and for the territory between
the lakes and the Ohio, had brought into the field, on both sides, aux-
iliary Indian forces. The treaty of peace negotiated at Paris did not
secure tranquillity to the inhabitants of the borders. The Indian
tribes on the North-western territory only paused to form new plans,
and then went on to harass the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylva-
nia as they had done before. Their scalping parties advanced into
the settlements, and marked their way with the most horrid cruelties.
Large bodies of the confederated tribes attacked all the distant forti-
O
fied posts, and in fifteen days captured ten of them and massacred the
garrisons. Forts Pitt, Niagara, and Detroit held out, and were relieved
and saved.
Although a peace with the 'Indians was formally concluded by
Colonel Bouquet in 1764, their fixed hostility to the whites displayed
itself whenever an opportunity presented of taking a prisoner or a scalp.
* There were exceptions, but they were few. When the Indians were employed by the
Europeans in their wars, attempts to conlrol them gave offence : the following extract from
Williams's History of Florida is to the point: — "A Cherokee encountering a Spaniard, cut
off his head and brought it to Oglethorpe, but he spurned the savage with abhorrence, and,
calling him a barbarous dog, bid him begone. The Cherokee said that the French would
have treated them very differently. They soon after drew off, and left the place."
2
GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE.
Retaliation followed of course. Thus the backwoodsmen became fa-
miliar with all the subleties and craft of Indian warfare ; and such in
general was their love of adventure and disdain of danger, that they
frequently undertook hazardous enterprises from mere curiosity, or
the pleasure of traversing a country where no white man had ever
trod before.
About the year 1770, the unoccupied domain of Virginia, west of
the Cumberland mountains, began to attract the attention of the ad-
venturous inhabitants of the borders. Individuals and small parties
successively ventured to explore the unknown region. Many of them
never returned ; but those who did, gave the most favorable reports of
the richness of the soil and the abundance of game. The settlement
of the present State of Kentucky immediately followed ; and about a
year afterward the Revolutionary war commenced.
Amongst those who visited Kentucky at, or soon after, the period
that the earliest emigrants had there set up their cabins, was GEORGE
ROGERS CLARKE. He was a Virginian ; born in Albemarle, on the
19th of Nove. 1752, but is spoken of as a resident in one of the
Western counties in 1776, when he went on a tour of observation
amongst the new settlements. He visited the forts, the camps, the
cabins ; he spent much of his time in the woods, made himself ac-
quainted with every subject of interest in the country, and gained the
friendship and confidence of the people by the manliness of his de-
portment, his intelligence and vivacity, and above all, by the boldness
of his spirit for enterprise, and the determination he expressed of be-
coming a resident of the country. This visit of Mr. CLARKE was
productive of very important events. He ascertained that the whole
frontier was vexed by Indian atrocities, through the influence of
British agents. The savages were instigated to deeds of cruelty by
the promises oi reward for scalps, but not for prisoners ; and they were
supplied with rum, arms, ammunition and clothing at the British
posts, which were established from the Mississippi to the St. Law-
rence. Mr. CLARKE was deeply affected by the scenes of hostility
by which he found himself surrounded. He therefore devised a plan
to capture the Western posts, a work which was well adapted to em-
ploy his genius, and, if attended with success, to gratify his military
propensities and ardent love of adventure.
The reader will remember that the British posts on the Wabash
and the Mississippi were within the bounds of the Virginia charter ;
that at the time of which we are now writing, a strong current of
emigration had begun to set towards the West ; and that in 1777,
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Kentucky was admitted to the privileges of a County of Virginia.
The possibility and importance of capturing those posts, and securing
thereby the tranquillity of the frontier, was suggested by Mr. CLARKE
to the governor and legislature of Virginia, and his project met with
a favorable reception. In the beginning of 1778 a regiment of State
troops was raised for the service of the "Western frontier, and placed
under his command. With a force of between two and three hun-
dred men, Colonel CLARKE crossed the mountains to the Mononga-
hela, and descended by water to the falls of the Ohio. There he left
thirteen families of emigrants, who had ventured so far under his
escort ; and being there joined by a party of volunteers from Ken-
tucky, he proceeded with his regiment in boats down the Ohio, to a
point about sixty miles from its mouth and one hundred and thirty
from Kaskaskia, which was the secret object of the expedition. The
route lay through a low country, intersected by numerous streams and
ponds of various dimensions, and covered with a luxuriant vegeta-
tion. With his rifle in his hand and Ins provisions on his back,
Colonel CLARKE marched at the head of his men, and encountered
every difficulty and shared every privation with them. Their pro-
visions were exhausted two days before they reached the town ; and
although game mi gift have been shot in abundance, the report of a
rifle might have warned some solitary hunter or roving Indian of
their approach, and secrecy was essential to success. They arrived
by night before the town of Kaskaskia, and found the inhabitants
and the garrison lulled in the supposed security of their remote posi-
tion, and so unconscious of danger, that they were completely taken
by surprise, and surrendered without resistance. No one was allowed
to escape to carry the news to the villages higher up the Mississippi,
and in a few days all the settlements were taken. The inhabitants
took the oath of allegiance to the United States, the fort at Kaskaskia
became the head-quarters of Colonel CLARKE, and at the next session
of the Virginia legislature the district was created into a county, and
called Illinois.
His next exploit was the capture of Vincennes. That post had
been considered within reach of an attack from the American settle-
ments, and was strongly fortified, and well garrisoned with British
troops, commanded by Governor Hamilton, and supported by an
auxiliary Indian force of about six hundred warriors. Governor
Hamilton was very soon informed of CLARKE'S success, and deter-
mined to attack him ; but, confident in the superiority of his force, he
deferred his operations until the rivers and smaller streams, \vhich
GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE.
then overflowed their banks, should become passable. Colonel
CLARKE, in the mean time, prepared to attack Vincennes, and des-
patched a party to reconnoitre, while he strengthened the defences of
Kaskaskia, which he determined to hold at all hazards. While he
was arranging his plans for future operations, an itinerant Spanish
merchant, who had recently visited Vincennes, arrived, and informed
him that Governor Hamilton had detached his Indians to the Ohio
and the frontiers of Kentucky ; that he proposed to retake Kaskaskia
in the Spring, to cut off the inhabitants on the Ohio as far as Fort
Pitt, and then operate on the frontiers of Virginia. Colonel CLARKE
determined upon instant operations. He made the best preparations
he could for a march of one hundred and sixty miles across a coun-
try abounding in embarrassments. Several large rivers and their
tributary streams, with broad belts of inundated land on each side,
were to be crossed without boats or bridges ; and the whole route lay
over a soil which afforded no firm footing, and through rough and
pathless woods. Without wagons and without tents, their ammu-
nition and provisions on their backs and on the backs of a few pack-
horses, one hundred and thirty men toiled for sixteen days through
mud and water. The last five days were occupied in crossing the
swamps and drowned lands within about six miles of the fort, wading
sometimes breast deep in water, and then forcing their way through
tangled thickets and over floating timber. It was mid winter ; and
had not the weather been unusually mild, all these brave men must
have perished. On the evening of the 23d of February, 1779, they
reached dry land within view of the fort. The town immediately
surrendered. The attack on the fort commenced, and there was a
continual fire on both sides for eighteen hours. The next night,
after the setting of the moon, the assailants threw up an entrench-
ment within rifle shot of the strongest battery, and poured such
showers of well-directed balls into the ports, that in fifteen minutes two
pieces of cannon were silenced. The next evening Governor Hamil-
ton surrendered the garrison prisoners of war, and Colonel CLARKE
took possession of the fort and a large quantity of stores. In the
height of the action an Indian war party approached with two French
prisoners. Colonel CLARKE detached a part of his men to give them
battle on the commons. Nine Indians were taken, and the French-
men released. Hearing, soon after, of a convoy of goods from Detroit,
he sent sixty men in armed boats, well mounted with swivels, to in-
tercept it. They met the convoy forty leagues up the river, and
made prize of the whole, taking forty prisoners and about ten thou-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
sand pounds worth of goods and provisions, and the mail from Canada.
Having more prisoners than he knew what to do with, he was obliged
to discharge a great part of them on parole. Governor Hamilton and
his principal officers were sent to Virginia, and Colonel CLARKE re-
turned to Kaskaskia, leaving a sufficient garrison at Vincennes. Up
to this time he had been left to the resources of his own judgment,
and had accomplished a great work with very small means. He had
received neither letters nor assistance from Virginia in upwards of a
year. Could he have mustered three hundred men at Vincennes, he
would have marched to Detroit ; and such was the effect on his little
band, of a vote of thanks by the Legislature of Virginia for the cap-
ture of the posts on the Mississippi, that they would have attempted
the reduction of that important post had the commander requested it.
But prudence forbade the attempt, though from subsequent informa-
tion there was a strong probability it would have been successful.
The alliance with France had been effected, the inhabitants were
principally descendants of French settlers, the haughty and tyrannical
conduct of Governor Hamilton had offended them, they rejoiced at his
captivity, and had prepared for a welcome reception of the Americans.
But before CLARKE heard of all this, Detroit had been reinforced, and
the favorable opportunity was lost. The brilliant exploits of Colonel
CLARKE had, however, deranged the extensive plans of the enemy,
and some of the western tribes were detached from the British inte-
rest ; the limits of the United States were extended to the Mississippi,
where they remained fixed ; and the current of population rolled
steadily onward to the West without impediment. The families be-
fore mentioned as having been left at the falls of Ohio, had taken up
their abode upon an island for more easy defence ; they now removed
to the Kentucky shore, and founded Louisville, which soon became a
place of importance, and Colonel CLARKE made it his head-quarters.
The alliance with France and the mediation of Spain excited san-
guine hopes in the country that peace would soon follow, and the
question of boundaries began to present itself in all its important
bearings upon the future interests of the United States. It had been
suggested that possession by either party might be the principle
adopted in the final adjustment. If that principle had been contem-
plated by Great Britain, it might have been one of the motives which
led to the subornation of Indian hostilities on the borders ; but we
can hardly believe that to have been the case, for Great Britain had
not yet begun to view the question as one which could possibly arise.
On the contrary, the Americans had no doubt that at some period not
GEORGE ROGRES CLARKE.
remote, the boundaries must be defined, and as the principle of occu-
pation might be adopted, Virginia determined to make the earliest and
best use of her means in anticipation. Colonel CLARKE was, there-
fore, directed to select a commanding position on the Mississippi, near
the southern boundary claimed by the State, and there establish a
fort and garrison, and to advance his posts towards the lakes, that they
might be in actual possession of, and give protection to, the State. In
compliance with these orders, he built Fort Jefferson on the Missis-
sippi. This gave umbrage to the Chickasaws, as it was erected on
their hunting-ground ; but full explanations being given of the object
of the measure, and of its importance for their own security, as weir
as for that of Virginia, they became satisfied ; and when the fort and
garrison were afterwards attacked by hostile Indians, the Chickasaws
came to their relief, and drove off the besieging force. The place
was subsequently restored to the Chickasaws. In the northern
quarter Colonel CLARKE proceeded with his usual judgment, com-
bining policy with enterprise, encouraging peace among the friendly
tribes, and directing against the hostile the force of those who could
not be persuaded to remain inactive. His influence with the Indians
was very great. He assembled four or five thousand at Vincennes to
carry out his favorite project — the capture of Detroit ; but, disap-
pointed in the number of whites he had expected, and not choosing to
rely almost entirely upon Indians, he was obliged to abandon the ex-
pedition. Meanwhile the British commander at Detroit was not idle.
On the 1st of June, 1780, he assembled six hundred Canadians and
Indians, for a secret expedition under Colonel Byrd. On the 22d,
this force presented itself with two field-pieces before Ruddle's station
in Kentucky, which was obliged to capitulate : Martin's station was
captured immediately afterward, and the inhabitants of both were
loaded with the spoil of their own dwellings, and hurried off towards
Canada. A prompt retaliation was required ; and when Colonel
CLARKE called on the militia of Kentucky for volunteers to accom-
pany his regiment against the Indians, there was no delay on their
part. Having collected a respectable portion of the force of the coun-
try, he led it against the Shawanees on the Great Miami. A fierce
conflict at Pickawa, one of their principal towns, terminated in the
fiio-ht of the Indians. The town was burnt, and all the means of
& '
subsistence of the inhabitants was destroyed. Colonel CLARKE re-
turned to the Ohio, and discharged the militia ; and the Indians,
being reduced to the necessity of hunting for the support of their fa-
milies, gave Kentucky no further trouble that season, In December
7
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of the same year he was in Richmond, urging the government for
means to execute his favorite enterprise — the reduction of Detroit-
the grand focus of Indian hostilities from the Mohawk to the Missis-
sippi. His views were approved ; but before the necessary arrange-
ments could be completed, a British force from New- York, under Ar-
nold, carried hostilities into the heart of the State. Colonel CLARKE
took a temporary command under Baron Steuben, and participated in
the active measures of that officer against the marauding traitor.
After several months had been spent in indefatigable efforts to
obtain a force of two thousand men for the enterprise against Detroit,
the several corps destined for the service were designated, and ordered
to rendezvous on the 15th of March, 1781, at the falls of Ohio, and
CLARK was raised to the rank of a Brigadier General : but unexpected
and insuperable difficulties arose, and the ardent genius of the com-
mander was confined to defensive operations. This appears to us to
have been the turning point in the fortunes of the hardy warrior.
It has been our object, in the conduct of this work, to state only well-
attested facts ; to award merited praise ; to cultivate a proper respect
for the institutions, and the men of genius, and every variety of talent
in our own country ; and to cherish every patriotic sentiment by the
influence of example. It frequently has been our pleasing study to
exhibit the impulsion of individual character upon the destinies of
the nation — to connect biography with history, and thus far we have
so traced the career of the subject of this sketch. We have followed
him over a broad field, have marked the energy, perseverance, and
determination of his character ; we have shown the daring bravery,
the fertile genius, and the correct judgment of the individual, uniting
in the achievement of exploits of permanent and national interest and
honor, and impelling him onward to the accomplishment of others ol
still greater benefit to his country. We must now reverse the order
of our reflections, and note the effect of disappointment upon the in-
dividual, who, having done much, is conscious he can do more, but
finds his future prospects blighted at the moment of their brightest
promise. He had set his heart upon destroying the British influence
throughout the whole north-western territory. Could he have had
the means which he required, his advancement in rank would, no
doubt, have been gratifying ; but without a General's command, a
General's commission was of no value. Dangers and hardships he
would have disregarded ; but with his small force, to be stationed on
the frontier to repel the inroads of a few predatory bands of Indians
when he was eager to carry the war to the lakes, was more than he
GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE.
could bear, and it preyed upon his spirit. He was a lion chained,
but he was still a lion, and so the enemy found him in 1782.
When the news of the disastrous battle of the Blue Licks reached
General CLARKE, he took immediate measures to rouse the country
from its anguish and despondency, and to carry the war once more
into the enemy's territory.
In September of that year a thousand mounted riflemen assembled
on the banks of the Ohio, and were put in motion by the General
for the Indian towns on the Miami and Scioto. The expedition was
conducted with the celerity to be expected from the quality and tem-
per of the troops. The Indians fled before them, and not more than
twelve were killed or taken. Five of their towns were reduced to
ashes, and all their provisions were destroyed ; the effect of which
was, that no formidable party of Indians ever afterward invaded Ken-
tucky.
In the course of the ensuing two years, the Kentuckians found
themselves in circumstances of restraint. Peace had taken place, but
they were threatened with Indian hostilities : these, if brought into
their own district, they could repel ; but experience had often proved
that the best defence against Indians was to anticipate their attacks,
and this they had not now the right to do, as the territory north-west
of the Ohio had been ceeded to the United States, and Kentucky was
still a part of Virginia. The remedy proposed at this time was a
separation from Virginia, the formation of an independent State, and
admission to the Union. Conventions were called, delegates appointed
to consult on, and take measures for, the future safety of the district,
and for the redress of real and imaginary grievances. This was a
period of agitation in Kentucky, and agitators were there who knew,
or thought they knew, how to take advantage of the popular feelings.
James Wilkinson, whose name, both before and since, has been united
with the most remarkable intrigues and plots in the history of our
country, was then a settler at Lexington, and had gained an ascen-
dency ; and the name of the hitherto most popular man west of the
mountains is not to be found among the delegates on any occasion
during this period. Congress, however, had not forgotten him ; and
he was appointed, in March, 1784, with four other gentlemen, to ne-
gotiate friendly treaties with the Indians. Several treaties were made,
but the only remarkable incident which we have seen recorded is
described in the Notes of an Old Officer. The Indians came in to
the treaty at Fort Washington (January, 1786,) in the most friendly
manner, except the Shawanees, the most conceited and warlike of the
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
aborigines ; the first ill at a battle, the last at a treaty. Three hun-
dred of their finest warriors, set off in all their paint and feathers, filed
into the council-house. Their number and demeanor, so unusual at
an occasion of this sort, was altogether unexpected and suspicious.
The United States' stockade mustered 70 men. In the centre of the
hall, at a little table, sat General CLARKE — the indefatigable scourge
of these marauders — General Butler, and Mr. Parsons. On the part
of the Indians, an old council-sachem and a war-chief took the lead.
The latter, a tall, raw-boned fellow, with an impudent and villain-
ous look, made a threatening speech, which operated effectually on
the Indians, who set up a whoop at every pause. He concluded
by presenting a black and white wampum, to signify their readiness
for peace or war. General CLARKE retained an unaltered and care-
less countenance throughout, and with his cane pushed the wampum
off the table. Every Indian started from his seat with one of those
sudden, startling sounds which express their indignation. General
CLARKE also arose, and casting upon the savage group a scornful
glance, put his foot upon the insulted symbol, and ordered them to
leave the hall. They did so, and all night they were heard debating
near the fort. In the morning they came back, and sued for peace.
In the same year, and but a few months after the ratification of the
treaties, a new army was raised, to march against the Indians on the
Wabash. The nations had made peace, but the individuals would
wage war, and the governments on either side of the Ohio could not
control their subjects. General CLARKE, at the .head of a thousand
men, again entered the Indian country. Having reached the vicinity
of Vincennes the troops were halted nine days, to give time for the
provisions and ammunition and provisions to come up, which had
been sent by water. The boats had been delayed upon the river, and
when they arrived half the provision they brought was spoiled. A
spirit of discontent had already manifested itself in camp, and now
became more apparent. The troops were, however, put in motion,
and advanced ; but a rumor was circulated that the General had de-
spatched a messenger with the offer of peace or war ; this converted
restlessness into disaffection among the troops, which was fomented
by some of their officers into mutiny ; and when within two days'
march of the Indian town, three hundred men turned their backs upon
the camp. The General, who saw the ruinous consequences of this
revolt, addressed them in the most conciliating terms, but in vain.
The expedition was abandoned ; and — " General Wilkinson, who
was at the falls of Ohio, wrote to a friend in Fayette, ' that the sun of
1C
GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE.
General CLARKE'S military glory had set, never more to rise.' ': The
author of the history of Kentucky says, " There was much meaning in
this sentence, which those who had fathomed Wilkinson knew how
to interpret and appreciate. Rumors were, indeed, unfavorable to
General CLARKE ; but those rumors had been set afloat by his ene-
mies, who wanted an apology for their own conduct ; and who, in turn,
were accused of fomenting the insubordination and mutiny, of which
they availed themselves to terminate the campaign dishonorably. Can-
dor, however, extorts a confession, that is made with regret, that
General CLARKE, at this time, ' was not the man he had been.' A
high sense of injustice and neglect had been left to corrode his mind,
by the government whose territory he had enlarged, and whose repu-
tation he had raised to renown. This had produced a chagrin, which,
in the mortification and ennui incident to the want of employment,
had sought extinguishment in the free use of ardent spirits."
Several years elapsed before the name of General CLARKE again
appeared in connexion with public affairs. Meanwhile, Kentucky
had become one of the States of the Union. The insolent conduct ot
the French minister, Genet, is known to every reader of American
history. He had been in the country but a few months, when he set
on foot a clandestine expedition from Kentucky against the Spanish
possessions on the Mississippi, and GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE was
furnished with a commission, as a Major-General in the armies ot
France, to organise and conduct it ; but before the project was put in
execution, a counter revolution occurred in France, Genet was recalled,
his doings disavowed, and CLARKE'S commission annulled. Thus
terminated his public career. In place of the observations to which
we should be led by the varied incidents of the previous narrative, we
subjoin the following extract from Judge Hall's Sketches of the West,
as furnishing an appropriate commentary on the instability of fortune
and the vanity of ambition.
" When General GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE, the Hannibal of the
west, captured Kaskaskia, he made his head -quarters at the house of
a Mr. Michel A- , one of the wealthiest inhabitants. Michel lived
in a capital French house, enveloped with piazzas and surrounded by
gardens — all in the most approved style. He was a merry, contented,
happy man ; abounding in good living and good stories, and as hos-
pitable as any gentleman whatever. The General remained his
guest some time, treated with the greatest kindness and attention,
and took leave of Mr. A— - with a high respect for his character
and a grateful sense of his warm-hearted hospitality. Years rolled
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
away ; the General had retired from public life, and was dwelling in
a humble Jog-house in Indiana, a disappointed man. His brilliant
services had not been appreciated by his country ; his political pros-
pects had been blighted ; he was unemployed and unhappy — a proud
man, conscious of merit, pining away his life in obscurity. One day7
as he strolled along the banks of the Ohio, he espied a circle of
French boatmen, the crew of a barge, who was seated round a fire
on the beach, smoking their pipes and singing their merry French
songs. One voice arrested his ear — it was that of his old friend
Michel ; he could not mistake the blithe tones, and ever buoyant hu-
mor, of his former host. He approached, and there sat Michel in
the garb of a boatman, with a red cap on his head, the merriest of
the circle. They recognised each other instantly. Michel was glad
to see the General, and invited him to take a seat on the log beside
him with as much unembarrassed hospitality as if he had still been
in his spacious house, surrounded by his train of servants. He had
suddenly been reduced from affluence to poverty — from a prosperous
gentleman, who lived comfortably on his estate, to a boatman — the
cook, if we mistake not, of a barge. Although a man of vivacity
and strong mind, he was illiterate and unsuspecting. The change
of government had brought in new laws, new customs, and keener
speculators than the honest French had been accustomed to deal with,
and Michel was ruined. But he was as happy as ever; while his
friend, the General, whose change of circumstances had not been so
sudden or complete, was a moody, discontented man. Such is the
diversity of national character."
General CLARKE never was married. He was long in infirm health,
and was severely afflicted with a rheumatic affection, which terminat-
ed in paralysis, and deprived him of the use of one limb. After suf-
fering under this disease for several years, it finally caused his death
in February 1818. He died and was buried at Locust Grove, near
Louisville, Kentucky. J. H.
12
THENEWYORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOH, LhnOX
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS,
Engraved ty G. Parker ,:
1ETS :T
THOMAS SUMTER.
THE name of General SUMTER, of South Carolina, is conspicuous h
the story of our revolutionary struggle, but the details of his actions
are scattered through many books, and have never, we believe, been
arranged in the form of a personal memoir. After many efforts to ob-
tain new matter, and to render this sketch more perfect than we could
otherwise hope to make it from the materials within our reach, we
have to confess our utter failure. The indifference or procrastination of
the present representative of the family, to whom we have applied, has
left us, up to the last moment, without a line of information ; and the
unhappy fate of the Steamer Home deprived us of Professor Nott, who
had engaged to furnish a biography of General SUMTER from such ma-
terials as he could obtain in South Carolina. We are therefore thrown
upon our own resources, and can only promise a careful collection of
all the material facts in relation to the public life of the distinguished
soldier, who, as a partisan officer, scarcely ranked below even Marion
himself.
It is probable that the military talents of General SUMTER had been
exhibited in the militia service of Carolina long before the commence-
ment of the revolution ; as we find that so early as March, 1776, he
was appointed by the provincial congress lieutenant-colonel of the
second regiment of riflemen ; but he does not appear to have particu-
larly distinguished himself until after the fall of Charleston, in May,
1780. His peculiar genius had then free scope, and led him on to a
series of actions of importance to his country, and the more remarkable
from the circumstances under which he organized his force, and the
sudden and unexpected check given to the rapid career of the con-
querors of General Lincoln's army.
In a few weeks after the capitulation of Charleston, the enemy held
complete possession of the state, and on the 4th of June Sir Henry
Clinton wrote to his government, " I may venture to assert that there
are few men in South Carolina, who are not either our prisoners or
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in arms with us." The few brave spirits who had not bowed to the
storm, sought shelter and the means of renewing the contest in North
Carolina. Among these was Colonel SUMTER ; but despondency and
inactivity formed no part of his character. At the head of a budy of
republicans like himself, driven from their native states, who had cho-
sen him to their command ; few in number, imperfectly armed, and al-
most destitute of ammunition, he returned to South Carolina, to op-
pose himself to a veteran and victorious army.
On the 12th of July he surprised and cut to pieces a superior party
of the enemy, composed of thirty-five dragoons of the legion, twenty
mounted infantry, and a large body of loyalists. The commander of the
party, Captain Huck, a miscreant noted for his cruelty and profanity,
was killed ; and of his whole party but about twenty made their escape.
Among those who served under Col. SUMTER, was Colonel Neale.
This gentleman, an ardent Whig, had commanded a regiment of mili-
tia in S. Carolina, and had fled from the state after the fall of Charles-
ton. When Lord Cormvallis, contrary alike to policy and justice, de-
termined to admit no neutrality in the contest, but that all who did
not unite themselves to the British force should be proceeded against
as enemies, Col. Neale's regiment was enrolled in the royal service.
Hearing of the approach of SUMTER, together with their old command-
er, they hastened to join him. His force was still farther increased by
the junction of small parties of Whigs from the Waxsaw settlement, who
had been exasperated by the treatment of the British authorities. Col.
SUMTER, now promoted by Governor Rutledge to the rank of briga-
dier-general in the state militia, found himself in a situation to under-
take some more considerable enterprise.
On the 30th of July he passed Broad river at Blair's ford, with about
six hundred men. and advanced upon Rocky Mount. The defences
of the post consisted of two log-houses and a loop-holed building, sur-
rounded by a ditch and an abattis — the whole placed upon a command-
ing eminence, and encircled by an open wood. The garrison was
composed of the New- York volunteers and a party of royalist militia,
and was commanded by Col. Turnbull. Having no artillery, Gen.
SUMTER sheltered the greater part of his men among the trees and
rocks, with directions to keep up a heavy fire upon the garrison ; while
at the head of a picked party, he himself proceeded to the assault.
After being twice repulsed, he still persevered, and succeeded in pene-
trating within the abattis ; but the strength of the post was too great to
admit of its being taken without artillery, and he was finally compelled
to retire.
THOMAS SUMTER.
Not discouraged by his want of success, after an interval of eight
days SUMTER fell upon Hanging Rock, another of the chain of posts
by which the British kept up their communication with the lower
country. Hanging Rock was garrisoned by five hundred men, con-
sisting of one hundred and sixty infantry of Tarleton's legion, a part
of Col. Brown's regiment, and Bryan's North Carolina corps. Through
an error of the guides, the attack was first directed against Bryan's roy-
alists, who, being surprised, gave way in all directions. Tarleton's
infantry were next forced to fall back on Brown's detachment; this,
though fighting with great bravery, was in its turn compelled to give
ground. The British troops retreating, formed themselves into a hol-
low square in the centre of their position. In the mean time the ranks
of the militia had become disordered ; many had been attracted by the
plunder of the camp, and others had indulged too freely in the liquor
which had been found in it. SUMTER, with the few troops that he
could bring into array, made a determined advance upon the new po-
sition of the enemy ; but the disorder had spread too deeply, and a suf-
ficient number of men could not be assembled to make an impression
on it. A retreat, therefore, was determined on. This was accomplished
leisurely, and in the face of the enemy, who had suffered too severely
to offer any interruption. When Gen. SUMTER began the action, his
men had but ten rounds of ball each, and before its termination they
were amply supplied from the stores of the British and Tories.
From the inattention of the militia to reg-ular returns of the killed
o
and wounded, the loss on the part of the Americans could not be
ascertained ; many of the wounded being carried home immediately
from the field of battle. The loss of the enemy considerably exceeded
our own. Of one hundred and sixty men of Tarleton's legion, they
acknowledge sixty-two to have been killed and wounded ; and their
other corps suffered severely. Immediately after the action Gen. SUM-
TER crossed the Catawba. His reputation for enterprise and ability
was now established. His success in the two latter instances would
have been more decided, had it not been for his want of artillery,
and the undisciplined nature of his troops. As it was, it raised the
drooping spirits of the Whigs, and gave his men confidence in the skill
and courage of their leader.
In the mean time Gen. Gates had entered South Carolina, and
shortly afterwards his army took up a position at Rugely's Mills, not
far from Gen. SUMTER'S encampment. Receiving information that a
detachment of the enemy was on its march from Ninety-six to Camden,
with stores for the main army, SUMTER requested a reinforcement
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
from Gen. Gates to enable him to intercept it. Col. Woolford, of the
Maryland line, with one hundred continentals, two pieces of cannon,
and three hundred militia, were despatched to his assistance. Thus
reinforced, on the morning of the 15th of August SUMTER appeared
on the west bank of the Wateree, fell upon the convoy which was
the object of the expedition, and succeeded in taking forty-four
wagon loads of stores and clothing, together with a number of prison-
ers. On the evening of the 17th, SUMTER, who was on his retreat up
the river, received intelligence of the unfortunate battle of Camden,
and of the total dispersion of the American army. Unhappily, his
movement, up the country had brought him into the immediate neigh-
borhood of the British army. Encumbered as he was with prisoners
and baggage, he immediately continued his retreat, and by the celerity
of his movement, avoided a corps under the command of Col. Turnbull,
which Lord Cornwallis had despatched against him. At noon on the
18th of August, he encamped his men on the north side of Fishing Creek,
a small stream that falls into the Catawba about forty miles above
Camden. Here the arms were stacked, videttes were posted ; and the
wearied troops, overcome by fatigue, enjoyed an interval of repose,
rendered more agreeable by their previous exertions.
The day after the battle of Camden, Lord Cornwallis, fearing lest
SUMTER might escape Col. Turnbull. had directed Col. Tarleton, with
his legion and some light infantry, to move likewise in pursuit. After
a rapid march, on the 17th, Col. Tarleton finding many of his men too
fatigued to continue the pursuit, selected one hundred of the dra-
goons, together with about sixty of the light infantry, and pressed
forward without intermission. Passing the Catawba at Rocky-Ford,
he got into the rear of SUMTER, who was utterly unapprized of his ap-
proach. Two videttes, who fired upon his advance, being killed
without the alarm being taken, Tarleton fell upon the camp, seized
the arms of the Americans, and instantly charged them while confus-
ed, unprepared, and unarmed. A fearful slaughter followed. A few
of the regulars taking post behind the wagons, offered some resistance ;
but it was soon suppressed, and the rout was universal. One hundred
and fifty were killed and wounded, and over three hundred were made
prisoners ; while the stores and clothing previously captured, again
fell into the hands of the enemy. SUMTER himself fortunately es-
caped unhurt. By this terrible blow, South Carolina was again left
at the mercy of the conqueror ; the few men under Marion constitut-
ing the sole force embodied for her protection.
Immediately on his defeat, SUMTER retired to the upper country,
THOMAS SUMTER.
where he was soon joined by a few of his men who had escaped the
slaughter of the 18th. Volunteers flocked to his standard, and he was
again in a condition to harass the enemy.
He ranged the district about the Enoree, Broad, and Tiger Rivers.
His men being all mounted, were enabled to move about the country
with speed and facility. When they approached an enemy, the horses
were tied and left in charge of a few of the party ; so that in defeat
they afforded a safe retreat, in victory the means of pursuit.
In the early part of the fall, SUMTER was at the head of such a force
as to attract towards him the attention of Lord Cornvvallis ; and Major
Wemyss, with the sixty-third regiment and about forty of the legion
cavalry, was despatched in pursuit of him. The former success of
Tarleton inspired Wemyss with the hope of likewise surprising his ene-
my. Pushing forward with great celerity on the night, of the 8th No-
vember,he reached the encampmentof SUMTER on the bankof the Broad
River. Fearing if he delayed till morning, SUMTER might be advised of
his proximity, he determined upon an immediate attack. At one o'clock
in the morning his troops advanced to the assault. Col. Wemyss, who
was at the head of his men, fell by the fire of the picket, which was
immediately driven in. The British troops pushed forward ; but they
found the Americans in arms, and ready to receive them. Unprepared
to meet so firm a resistance, and discouraged by the fall of their leader,
the British forces soon retreated with precipitation, leaving their com-
mander and twenty men upon the ground. In the morning Col. We-
myss was discovered, badly wounded. He had been active in prosecut-
ing the severe measures of Lord Cornwallis against those Whigs, who,
contrary to a solemn compact, being called upon to join the British
forces, had preferred the service of their countrymen. Some of the
Whigs had been hanged by his orders, and he in person had attended
their execution. In his pocket was found a list of the houses which
he had burned. The paper being handed to General SUMTER, he im-
mediately threw it into the fire, and ordered every attention to be paid
to the prisoner. Col. Wemyss was shortly after permitted to go to
Charleston on parole.
After the action, Gen. SUMTER crossed the Broad River, and effect-
ing a junction with Cols. Clarke and Banner, who commanded parties
of militia from the mountains, concerted with them measures for the
surprise of Ninety-six. Lord Cornwallis, suspecting the designs of the
American commander, hastily recalled Col. Tarleton, who at that time
was absent on an expedition against Marion, directing him to join his
forces to the sixty-third regiment, which had not yet returned from its
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
fruitless attack, and bring SUMTER to action. Col. Tarlcton pursued
his foe with the impetuosity by which he was characterized. SUM
TER, receiving timely information of his approach, and not being strong
enough to risk an engagement, retreated. On the afternoon of the
20th of Nov. he reached Blackstock's Hill, an eminence on the east
bank of the Tiger River. Here he received information of the rapid
approach of Col. Tarleton, who, apprehensive lest his prey should es-
cape, had left behind him a majority of his troops, and was advancing
at the head only of the legion cavalry and some mounted infantry of the
sixty-third regiment ; the whole amounting to about four hundred men.
Confiding in the strength of his ground, Gen. SUMTER determined to
await the approach of the enemy, and offer him battle. His centre
was posted in some log buildings occupying the middle of the hill ;
his right was placed behind some rails, which were flanked by an in-
accessible mountain ; and his left was distributed in a piece of rugged
ground covered by a bend of the river. A small brook ran in front of
the whole, and the road to the ford passed directly through the centre
of the position. On coming in view of the American position, Col.
Tarleton was struck with its strength, and halting his men on an op-
posite eminence, determined to await the approach of the remainder of
his force. A portion of his men were accordingly dismounted, until the
arrival of his infantry should enable him to commence the battle.
Observing the movement, SUMTER determined to bring on an imme-
diate action. Accordingly a number of his militia were ordered to ad-
vance upon the British. A sharp conflict ensued ; but the sixty-third
charging with fixed bayonets, the militia were driven back. Pursuing
their advantage too far, the sixty-third received a murderous fire from
the buildings in which the American centre was posted, and were
thrown into confusion. Col. Tarleton, seeing the dangerous situation
in which the regiment was placed, attempted, by a vigorous charge up
hill with his cavalry, to relieve them ; but his men, thinned by the fire of
the Americans, were forced to retire in disorder. A second attempt
on the American left was attended with no better success. All his ef-
forts proving ineffectual, Tarleton was forced to retreat with precipita-
tion, leaving his wounded upon the field.
On this occasion the American loss amounted to but three men
killed and four wounded. The British, according to their own accounts,
lost more than fifty men ; while the Americans, who from remaining
masters of the field, had every opportunity of information, make it
amount to ninety-two men killed and one hundred wounded. Un-
fortunately, among the small number wounded on the American side,
THOMAS SUMTER.
was General SUMTER, who received a musket ball in his breast near
the right shoulder.
After burying the dead, and supplying the wounded of the enemy with
every comfort in his power, Gen. SUMTER continued his retreat. Having
reached a place of safety, the greater part of his followers dispersed, and
he himself, guarded by a few of his faithful soldiers, was borne into
North Carolina, there to wait till the healing of his wound should enable
I O
him to resume his active dirties in the field. Shortly after this, Congress
passed a vote directing their thanks to be presented to Gen. SUMTER
and the troops under his command for their patriotism, bravery, and
military conduct ; at the same time particularizing the affair at Hanging
Rock, the defeat of Major Wemyss, and the repulse of Col. Tarleton
at Blackstocks.
When Col. Tarleton wrote to Cornwallis his version of the affair,
Cornwallis in his answer said, " I shall be very glad to hear that SUM-
TER is in a condition to give us no further trouble ; he certainly has
been our greatest plague in this country." SUMTER was confined by
his wound for several months, but in the early part of Feb. 1781,
though still feeble, he was sufficiently recovered again to take the field.
General Greene was at that time retreating before Lord Cornwall is,
while South Carolina was again left without a continental army,
Under these circumstances, it was an important object to alarm the
enemy for the safety of the posts which he had left behind him in the
rapid pursuit of Greene. Assembling about two hundred and fifty
North Carolina militia, and being joined by Col. Wade Hampton with
a small reinforcement, SUMTER made a rapid movement upon Fort
Granby, a post of the enemy situated on the south banks of the Conga-
rce. Piles of rails were constructed so as to enable the marksmen to
fire down upon the enemy, who were destitute of artillery. The at-
tack was pressed so vigorously, that the British were on the point of
yielding, when the appearance of Lord Rawdon on the opposite bank
of the river, at the head of a superior force, compelled SUMTER to re-
treat. Retiring southward on the second day after the affair at Gran-
by, he surprised and captured a detachment of fifty British troops, and
a convoy of provisions and clothing which they were escorting. Un-
fortunately, the convoy, which was of the highest importance to the
American army, being placed in boats and sent down the river, was re-
taken by the British posted at Fort Watson. Swimming his horses across
the Santee, and transporting his men in canoes, SUMTER attempted to
carry the post and recover the lost booty ; but being unprovided with
artillery, the attempt proved vain, and the Americans were repulsed.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
After sheltering his men a few days in the swamps on the north side
of the Santee, he moved towards the north-eastern part of the state,
and encamped in the friendly neighborhood of Charlotte.
This expedition annoyed and distressed the enemy, by breaking up
the communications between his posts, kept up the spirits of the Ameri-
cans, and furnished Gen. SUMTER with a mass of information concern-
ing the force and movements of the enemy. This last was imme-
diately dispatched to Gen. Greene through Col. Hampton.
Gen. SUMTER'S services had hitherto been performed altogether by
means of militia, a species of force, in the then state of the country,
constantly fluctuating in numbers, joining and leaving the camp with
almost equal facility, and little to be depended on in expeditions which
required time. He now attempted to enlist a body of men in the
service of the state for ten months. While thus engaged, he received
a letter from Gen. Greene, announcing the intention of the latter to
permit Lord Cormvallis to pursue his march north without interrup-
tion from him, while he himself should again enter South Carolina,
and attempt to drive the enemy from the southern states. In accord-
ance with this plan, Gen. SUMTER was directed to procure provisions for
the main army, to obtain all the information in his power, and to break
up, as much as possible, the communications between the enemy's
posts. SUMTER, in pursuance of these instructions, took the field on
the 20th of April, with the men he had been able to raise. Several
parties of the royalist militia were dispersed, and the country between
the Broad, Saluda, and Wateree rivers completely swept. The im-
portance of SUMTER'S services at this period is shown by the frequen-
cy of his communications with Gen. Greene. Besides furnishing him
with all the provisions he could collect, sometimes in the course of a
day several letters containing information would be sent to the main
army. On the llth of May he made a sudden attack on the post
at Orangeburg. and took near one hundred prisoners with a large
supply of stores and provisions. About this time some difficulty oc-
curring between Col. Lee and himself, SUMTER sent a remonstrance
o *
to Gen. Greene, enclosing his commission ; the next day it was returned
with many expressions of esteem, and SUMTER sacrificed his private
discontent to the service of his country.
In July, when General Greene, on account of the ill-health prevalent
in the army, retired to the high hills of Santee for the benefit of re-
pose and purer atmosphere, he despatched Gen. SUMTER, having
under him the corps of Marion and Lee, to break up the enemy's posts
in the vicinity of Charleston, and to dislodge the nineteenth regiment
THOMAS SUMTER.
stationed at Monk's Corner. The country was swept to the gates of
Charleston, the fort at Dorchester broken up, and a large party of
mounted refugees were dispersed by Col. Wade Hampton, who com-
manded SUMTER'S cavalry. The main object of the expedition, which
was the nineteenth regiment, then posted at Monk's Corner, failed ;
Col. Coates retreating during the night over a bridge which had been
deserted by the militia placed to guard it. On the following day SUM-
TER came up with the enemy, who had taken post in the house and
the out-houses of Captain S hub rick ; but being unprovided with artil-
lery, after an ineffectual effort to dislodge them, he was obliged to give
up the attempt.
After the expedition to Dorchester, SUMTER was compelled to retire
to the upper country from indisposition ; nor was he enabled again to
take the field before the enemy were confined to the walls of Charles-
ton. After the peace, he was for a long time a member of the Ameri-
can congress — first as a representative and afterwards as a senator. He
lived respected alike for his talents and services, and died on the 1st
of June, 1832, at his residence near the Bradford Springs, South Ca-
rolina, in the 98th year of his age.
SUMTER was tall and robust, with a bold and open countenance, ex-
pressive at once of energy and decision. As a partisan officer, his cha-
racter was marked by courage, enterprize, and determination. " Great-
ly superior to General Marion in personal strength, and trusting less
to stratagem and skill, he placed his fortune much more exclusively
on his daring resolution and the execution of his sword. Warm in
temperament and devoted to his country, whatever could contribute to
rescue her from the invader and establish her independence, became an
object of his ardent affection. He was also enamoured of brilliant
achievement for its own sake. To victory, and the glory attending it,
he would cut his way through every danger, regardless alike of his
own blood and that of the enemy." At the head of a force inferior
in equipment and discipline, and attached to their commander only
by their confidence in his prowess and ability, he constantly kept
the field against a veteran and superior enemy, commonly suc-
cessful, and in defeat ever able to rally his men and renew the con-
test. On one unfortunate occasion he is perhaps justly chargeable
with a negligence which led to the destruction of his party ; but, in-
structed by experience, he was never again surprised, and both We-
myss and Tarleton felt the effect of his vigilance. In addition to
his other qualities, SUMTER was invariably humane in a contest where
the conduct of both parties had afforded a good excuse for retaliatory
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
cruelty. His conduct toward Wemyss and the wounded of Tarleton's
legion will long remain evidence of a kindliness of nature not
always to be found in the excited breast of the partisan.
B. W. M'C.
10
Wilmer iron a Rainlino in possession of €-. . -;/ of Baltimore
MORDECAI GIST.
IT is difficult, perhaps impossible, for us now to appreciate the hazards,
privations, and sacrifices — personal and pecuniary — which were en-
countered by the patriots who achieved our national independence ;
nor can we adequately express the gratitude we owe them, for the
great and various privileges secured to us by their exertions. Al-
though the honors and distinctions which crown a glorious enterprise,
successfully conducted, were theirs, it is, nevertheless, our duty, and
should be our pride, to reverence and honor the memory of even the
humblest of them. Among the number who are thus entitled to
claim our respect and gratitude, was Brigadier General MORDECAI
GIST, a native of Baltimore county, Maryland.
He was born in 1743, and was of English descent. His father was
Captain Thomas Gist ; his mother was Susan, daughter of John
Cockey, Esq. The ancestors of both families were among the earliest
and most respectable emigrants from England, who established them-
selves in Maryland. He obtained a sound and useful education at the
private seminary of an Episcopal clergyman, who had charge of a
parish in his father's neighborhood. After attaining the necessary age,
he was placed in Baltimore, to prepare him for commercial pursuits,
in which he afterward embarked ; and in which he continued, till the
increasing difficulties with the mother country gave a new direction
to his ambition.
Foreseeing the crisis that was approaching, the young men of Bal-
timore were not tardy in preparing to meet it. In January. 1775, they
formed themselves into a volunteer association, under the name of the
" Baltimore Independent Company," and elected GIST their captain :
who, animated by the same spirit of patriotism that governed him
throughout the ensuing contest, was, even then, conspicuous for his
zeal and activity. This company, the first ever raised in Maryland
for the defence of our violated rights, was composed of young men of
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the very first respectability, and is still remembered by a few for its
fine military appearance, and splendid uniform of scarlet and buff.
In January, 1776, GIST was appointed Major of a battalion of regu-
lar troops raised in Maryland. Having joined the army with his
corps, he was present at the battle of Long Island, and, in consequence
of the absence of the colonel and lieutenant-colonel, commanded the
regiment to which he belonged. In 1777 he was advanced to the
rank of colonel ; and, with Smallwood, was ordered by Washington
to take command of the militia which Congress called on the State of
o
Maryland to furnish, to assist in repelling the invasion of the enemy
by the way of the Chesapeake. In obedience to orders, he repaired to
the eastern shore of Maryland, to execute the duty assigned him of
organizing this force, and of harassing the enemy's right flank in any
march they might attempt towards Philadelphia, or into the country.
After complying with these orders, he joined the main army near the
Brandywine, with his troops, in effecting which, he narrowly escaped
being made a prisoner, his horse having received two bullets in forc-
ing his way through a detachment of the enemy. At Germantown,
and in the various operations that followed, as well as throughout the
two succeeding campaigns, he bore his part with zeal and fidelity ;
having been, in the language of a venerable and distinguished com-
patriot* who yet survives him, " one of those officers who were always
at their posts."
In January, 1779, Congress raised him to the rank of Brigadier
General, and conferred on him the command of the second brigade of
the Maryland line. In the following year he was transferred with his
brigade to the south, which became the field of his subsequent career,
and where he participated in all the vicissitudes of defeat and victory
—retreat and pursuit — which characterised the eventful campaigns
that followed.
In the sanguinary and disastrous battle of Camden, General GIST
behaved with distinguished gallantry. Having been posted with his
brigade on the right, he, in conjunction with the other Maryland bri-
gade, the Delaware regiment, and Dixon's regiment of North Caro-
linians, gloriously maintained the unequal conflict, after the left wing
and centre had been entirely broken and dispersed ; thus, even in
defeat, nobly aiding in sustaining the honor of his country's arms.
" De Kalb and GIST," says the gallant Lee, in his Memoirs of the
* General Samuel Smith.
2
MORDECAI GIST.
War in the Southern Department of the United States, " yet held the
enemy on our right in suspense. Lieutenant Colonel Howard, at the
head of Williams' regiment, drove the corps in front out of line.
Rawdon could not bring the brigade of GIST to recede ; — bold was the
pressure of the foe — firm as a rock the resistance of GIST." In this
engagement the heroic Baron De Kalb fell mortally wounded, and the
last act of his life was to dictate to his aid-de-camp the expression of
his thanks to Generals GIST and Smallwood, and the troops under
their command, for the valor displayed by them in this battle. Con-
gress also testified their approbation, by passing a vote of thanks to
GIST and Smallwood, and their respective corps, " for their bravery
and good conduct" at Camden. As GIST was retiring from the field,
being among the last to do so, in superintending the retreat of his
corps, a British dragoon, rushing on in pursuit, galloped up to him
with uplifted sword to cut him down ; his approach, however, having
been perceived, GIST wheeled round to meet the assault and defend
himself, when, at the moment, a sergeant of his brigade, who was near,
levelled his musket, fired and killed the dragoon, then seized his
horse, mounted, and made good his retreat.
General Greene was soon afterward ordered to the South, and sig-
nalised his command by a series of masterly movements, and by var
rious engagements, in which the subject of this memoir shared, but
which have been detailed in preceding memoirs, and need not now
be recapitulated, as they are familiar to every reader. At the surren-
der of Cornwallis General GIST was present, and is introduced by
Colonel Trumbull in his painting representing that memorable event,
now in the Rotunda of the Capitol, between Generals Clinton and
Wayne.
In 1782 General Greene remodelled the " Light Corps" of the
Southern army, and selected General GIST to command it. Colonel
Baylor was placed under him in command of the cavalry, and Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Laurens, of the infantry. The British general having
sent out a detachment of light infantry, attended by armed vessels
along the interior navigation near Charleston, General Greene de-
spatched General GIST with his corps in pursuit. After a long and
rapid march, he reached the enemy on the Combabee, and after an
engagement, in which the gallant Laurens was killed, succeeded in
driving back the enemy, and in capturing one of their vessels. This
we believe was the last conflict that occurred in that long but glorious
struggle ; hostilities having soon afterward ceased.
Peace having been proclaimed, and with it the possession of all
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
those rights for which he had so long contended. General GIST was
allowed at last to seek that repose which services so arduous and pro-
tracted must have rendered peculiarly grateful. He, accordingly, re-
tired to his plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, where, in the
possession of all the enjoyments that opulence and the respect of his
fellow-citizens could confer, he resided till the period of his death,
which occurred in 1792, in the city of Charleston.
General GIST was thrice married ; first to Miss Carnan of Balti-
more county, who died soon afterward ; next to Miss Sterett of Balti-
more, who only lived long enough to give birth to a son : and lastly
to Mrs. Cattell of South Carolina, who also bore him a son. In as-
signing names to his two sons, he gave a curious and unique, but
emphatic evidence of his attachment to the cause in which he had
embarked, by calling the first, who was born during the gloomiest
period of the Revolution, Independent, and the other, States.
The personal appearance of General GIST was particularly striking,
having been six feet in height, and finely proportioned, with a muscular
developement indicative of strength and activity. His features and
countenance were, at the same time, eminently handsome, with eyes,
especially, of singular brilliancy and expression ; to which were
united, manners and a deportment, frank, graceful and polished.
J. P. C.
THENEWYORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
A8TOK, L«:SOX AMU
TILDtN FO'IMO/TK)H»,
ngraw :.
HUG HL. WHITE.
HUGH L. WHITE was born in Iredell county, North Carolina, in
the year 1773. He was the son of respectable and influential parent-
age, of Irish descent. His father, James White, was a soldier in our
memorable struggle for independence ; afterwards a general of Ten-
nessee militia, and served with high honor and distinction in the late
Creek war. At the close of the Revolution he removed first to Yir-
ginia. and then emigrated to Knox county, Tennessee, when Hugh
was thirteen years of age. At the time of which we speak, Tennes-
see was a wilderness ; and into this wild abode was the family of Mr.
White ushered, with no defence but personal prowess, and no means
of subsistence but what were seized in the face of danger and death.
But the hardships and perils which the early pioneer had to encoun-
ter from the natural obstacles of the unsubdued forest and its terrific
inhabitants, have been too often and glowingly described, and are too
well known, even to infancy, to need relation here. But in these dan-
gers and perils the family of Mr. White bore no ordinary share. At
the age of nineteen Hugh volunteered as a private soldier in the In-
dian campaigns. In these he was soon distinguished as a brave, vi-
gilant, and untiring soldier. He possessed a constitution peculiarly
fitted for rugged duties — a constitution which has preserved its elas-
ticity and firmness, almost in primitive vigor, beyond the boundary of
three-score years. These scenes of his early life are interesting only
as they were the rough school of discipline in which he acquired and
strengthened those hardy Roman virtues which have distinguished
his character throughout his whole public career.
The early education of HUGH L. WHITE, was not as thorough and
extensive as he could have wished it, and as it would have been un-
der more favorable circumstances. The refinements of polished scho-
larship had hardly been introduced into Tennessee at that early day.
But of the more practical and useful branches of education, such as
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
qualified him for the discharge of the immediate duties of life, he ac-
quired the utmost that the schools of that day afforded. He was in-
structed in the ancient languages by the Rev. Samuel Carrick, and
Mr. (afterwards Judge) Roane, gentlemen of no mean proficiency in
scholarship. To these attainments he afterwards added a course of
mathematics, under Professor Patterson of Philadelphia. In 1795 he
left Philadelphia for Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he entered the
office of James Hopkins, an eminent lawyer, under whose superin-
tendence he devoted himself with great ardor to the study of the law.
Having completed the usual preparatory course, he returned, in 1796,
to Knoxville, where he commenced the practice of his profession.
For the five succeeding years Judge WHITE devoted himself unre-
mittingly to the duties of his profession, and rose to high and honorable
distinction at the bar. The science of jurisprudence was his especial
study ; and with such zeal and ability did he enter into the investiga-
tion, that he was selected at the early age of twenty-eight, from a body
of able and experienced lawyers, to fill the office of Judge of the Su-
perior Court ; at that time the highest judicial tribunal in the State,
This seat he held till 1807, when he resigned.
As a lawyer. Judge WHITE was one of the most distinguished in
the early history of Tennessee. Nor was the bar of Tennessee at that
time wanting in men of the first order in legal attainments. Jackson,
Whiteside, Overtoil, and G. W. Campbell were then in the prime of
their legal celebrity, and with such men was he associated upon the
bench. In legal argumentation, Judge WHITE had but few superiors ;
yet he was al ways as fair and honest in debate as he was cogent. He
never turned aside to take advantage of quibbles, and quirks, and
senseless technicalities ; but built his premises upon the plain and ob-
vious meaning of the law, and with abstract truth as his guide, he seldom
failed to carry his point. He viewed every thing like cunning and
subtlety in the pleadings of the bar with detestation, as he always has
the tricks and manosuvres. and intrigues of party politicians. There
need be no better evidence that Judge WHITE possessed every quali-
fication of the able, profound, and enlightened jurist, than that he was
afterwards appointed, (or would have been appointed on condition of his
accepting,) a seat upon the Supreme Bench of the United States, which
distinguished post of honor he declined. When he was elevated from
the bar to the bench, he brought to the discharge of its difficult func-
tions all the qualities already enumerated, and superadded to the es-
sential attributes of judicial authority, great mildness and suavity of
manners ; yet was he always firm, and dignified, and uncompromis-
HUGH I,. WHITE.
ing when duty demanded. To maintain such an office with popu-
larity and respect, both from the people and the bar, is the surest test
of merit. Spurious talents or superficial learning cannot be played off
undetected upon the bench. The strict integrity of Judge WHITE
was proverbial. His opinions were generally remarkable for perspi-
cuity and strength, and many of them able specimens of judicial acu-
men and research. His long services in his judicial capacity acquired
for him the greatest respect and esteem from the gentlemen of the pro-
fession, and conferred lasting honor on the bar of Tennessee. Such
ample opportunities as were presented during twelve years' experience
on the bench, and especially, when afterwards practised upon and en-
larged in the course of his political experience, have rendered Judge
WHITE thoroughly acquainted with the spirit and character of the
laws of his country.
An interesting anecdote is told of this period of his life, quite cha-
racteristic of his republican simplicity. A student of law came a con-
siderable distance to be examined by him, in order to obtain license.
The young man had heard much of his ability and learning as a ju-
rist, and expected to be much embarrassed in his presence ; but he
mustered courage, visited his residence, and on being informed that
the Judge was on his farm, went out, and intercepted a man ploughing,
and asked for Judge WHITE. " I am the man." was the reply. "I
wish to get license to practise law, and have come to be examined."
" Well, sir, if you will be good enough to come down into the shade,
I will attend to it with a great deal of pleasure." He secured his plough-
horse, got over into the cool shade, and took the young man through
a most learned and rigid examination — found that he was well
qualified, and, after inviting him to his house, and showing him every
mark of hospitality and politeness, gave him a license.
In the year 1807 he resigned his judgeship, and retired, in a great
measure, to his farm. Agricultural pursuits had always been a favo-
rite occupation, even in the midst of laborious studies ; and he would
be frequently found in the intervals of his engagements, ploughing in
his fields. There appears always to have been a congeniality between
great and good minds in the pursuits of agriculture. We pretend not
to divine the philosophy of it, or to determine, as has often been con-
tended, why it is that patriotism exists in so much more elevated and
fervent devotion in the retirement of the farm than in the busy throng of
crowded cities. Whether the fact be so or not, certain it is that many
of the noblest instances of sterling patriotism and high-souled principle
that have ever figured in the drama of human actions, have been found
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
among those most devoted to agricultural pursuits. Hypocrisy and
intrigue, which are the elements of contracted minds, have nought to
do in the retirement of the farm ; but far removed from the long cata-
logue of human frailties and vices with which they are so painfully
conversant in public life, the good and the great are gratified with the
view of the brighter side of humanity, and have thereto deal with
characters and actions more congenial with the simplicity and great-
ness of their own natures. Like Jefferson, and Washington, and Ma-
dison, Judge WHITE could be induced to leave his farm only when
duty, which was the supreme law of his nature, demanded ; and when
that was performed, he left the rivalries and commotions of public life
without a regret, to those whose business it was to foster them.
About this time Judge WHITE was appointed District Attorney for
the United States, which station he soon resigned. In 1807 he was
elected a senator to the State legislature. While a member of this
body he performed many important services to Tennessee, and was
the author of a system of land law ; for which Tennesseans, who re-
collect the frauds and controversies of the old system, will ever be
grateful. The speech in which he advocated the measure was one of
the first which he made as a politician, and was said to have been one
of unusual power. In 1809 the judiciary of Tennessee was re-organ-
ized, and a Supreme Court instituted. In this high tribunal he was
appointed to preside, although he was not a candidate, and was absent
from the seat of government two hundred miles when the legislature
conferred the appointment. He held this office for six years, and from
his faithfulness and ability acquired the utmost respect and popularity
from the people, by whose delegated authority he had been appointed.
Previous to his resignation in 1815 he was elected President of the
State bank. Under his auspices the institution flourished in a high
degree, and acquired much character for the prudence and ability of its
administration, and the stability of its operations. It obtained a stand-
ing in the west equally honorable to the State and beneficial to its finan-
cial concerns. He continued twelve years at the head of this institu-
tion, including the period of the late war — a period which will be long
remembered in the political history of the United States for fiscal dis-
trust, confusion, and difficulty ; and which, but for the energies of one
man, would have rendered bankrupt the credit of the whole nation.
But while engaged in the double duties of Judge and President of
the Bank, he did not forget his country. During the darkest period
of the Creek campaign, when General Jackson was surrounded with
difficulties such as would have crushed any other man, his brave men
HUGH L WHITE
contending not only with savages, but with famine and want, and sus-
taining life on roots and acorns, HUGH L. WHITE left the bench, and
with a single companion, the Hon. Luke Lea, started for the wilder-
ness, hired an Indian guide, and after several days and nights of peril-
ous adventure, found the general's encampment. He told the vete-
ran, that having heard of his difficulties, he had left his business, and
come to share his toils and dangers. It was determined, after sonic
O '
consultation, that the Judge should return through the wilderness to
Tennessee, and exert his influence in raising volunteers and procur
ing provisions for the distressed and famishing army. While absent
on this expedition, he missed several terms of his court, and by the laws
of Tennessee the judges were paid only in proportion to duty per-
formed. The legislature, in consideration of the great services he had
rendered General Jackson, passed an order that there should be no de-
duction of his salary. But with characteristic magnanimity he de-
clined the offer, and would receive no more than that for which he
rendered actual service. He said that his country was in distress, that
the aid he had rendered was without the hope of reward, and that he
would receive none.
In 1817 HUGH L. WHITE was again elected senator by a major-
ity approaching unanimity ; and served with distinction the period
for which he had been elected.
But the abilities of HUGH L. WHITE were too distinguished, and
O '
too well appreciated by his countrymen, to be confined within the
limits of a single State. He was appointed, in 1820, by President Mon-
roe, one of the commissioners under the Spanish treaty, in conjunction
with Littleton W. Tazewell and Gov. King. Previous to this time
his attention had been confined chiefly to the laws affecting individual
rio-hts and private property. The rights and laws of nations had little
connexion with the administration of justice in an interior State ; but
as the sphere of his operations was widened, he was found to possess
mental resources corresponding to the increased demand. With such
success did he apply himself to the details of commercial, maritime, and
international law, that he won the esteem and confidence of his able
colleagues — men who had been experienced, and profoundly versed in
the science of public law. He held this appointment until 1824. at
which time the commission expired. In the same year he was again
unanimously appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeals, but he declin-
ed the appointment. In 1825 General Jackson resigned his seat in
the United States senate, and HUGH L. WHITE was unanimously
elected to fill out the term. In 1827 he was again unanimously elect-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
ed to serve the next six years. And yet again, amidst the hottest party
rancor, the legislature bestowed their undivided suffrage upon him
for another term of six years, in 1835.
We are now to review the life of HUGH L. WHITE in the most im-
portant and interesting scenes of the many in which he has taken
part. Hitherto we have viewed him chiefly as a jurist and a local
politician. But his life and acts become now identified with national
history and national interests. And from the character which he has
acquired in this political capacity, from the ability and faithfulness
with which he has discharged the functions of the high stations which
o o
he has occupied, must he stand or fall to the people of this nation.
Twelve years ago HUGH L. WHITE brought into our national coun-
cils great weight of character. At that time he had the unlimited con-
fidence of every party in the government. During this era of great
achievements in our political history — memorable for the revolution-
izing of our national policy, for the demolishing of long-established
institutions, and the building up new ; for bold and untried adventure
in the theory and practice of government — which will distinguish this
era of our political history for ages to come — during all this mighty
conflict of principle, HUGH L. WHITE has been constantly upon the
ground. He bore his part in them all, as friend or foe. This period
is too fresh in the memory of all, and the measures too notorious to be
detailed in this place. But during this comparatively short period of
his public career, more weighty subjects have been discussed, more
doubtful points of national policy settled, more difficulties removed
from the free administration of government, more political heresies
broached aud exterminated, than in any other period of American his-
tory of the same length. The whole theory of government has been
subjected to an inquisition, which spared neither the ancient, nor the
venerable, nor the strong, nor the weak. In the scales of justice or ho-
esty they have all been weighed, and have found the level, or the sup-
posed level, of their merits. Its maritime and commercial policy has been
revolutionised. Its banking establishments upturned. The powers
of the general government, in internal improvements and executive
patronage, have been scrutinised. The origin and nature of the fede-
ral compact have been discussed with earnestness and ability ; and its
value has been calculated, and its fundamental principles bandied
about with the familiarity of toys. With what character Judge WHITE
has passed through these scenes, is known to every man in the nation.
In 1832 John C. Calhoun resigned the Vice-Presidency of the Uni-
ted States, and the senate was left without a presiding officer. It was
HUGH L. WHITE.
on the eve of that memorable session, when the debate upon the tariff
had well-nigh severed the Union. The first talent of the nation was
there congregated, and every man had arrayed himself upon one side
or the other. The prize at issue was the CONSTITUTION. And the
leaders of the respective divisions came armed with the resolution to
carry their measures, though disunion on one side and civil war on the
other were the consequence. Proud in the strength of conscious
greatness, irritated by supposed aggressions or tyranny, and discord-
ant to a degree that almost banished deliberation, they foresaw that
troublous times were not far distant. It was seen that no ordinary
mind could be able to curb the outbreakings of passion, and to main-
tain its equipoise through so doubtful a contest. In full view of all
these difficulties, Judge WHITE was elected president of the senate ;
and how he sustained the exalted expectations of that body and the
nation is now a matter of history. The firmness, impartiality, deci-
sion, and dignity with which he presided over the stormy debate, proved
that no false estimate had been placed upon his character.
The intellectual character of Judge WHITE would bear a fair and
honorable comparison with the first talent in the senate. As an orator,
in the popular acceptation of the term, he is not so distinguished as
many members in the house of Congress. He possesses little of that
rich profusion of imagination which throws such a charm over the
oratory of a Clay, or a Pinckney, or a Wirt. But as a reasoner and
debater, he has shown strength and cogency of argument on more than
one occasion, which would rank him as one of the able logicians on
the floor of Congress. In the discussion upon the Panama Mission
he was particularly distinguished ; and the combatants in that debate
were no striplings in mind and attainments. The profoundest talent
in the nation, and the deepest constitutional learning, were brought to
bear upon it.
One of the most powerful efforts he ever made in the senate was
on the morning after he received the tidings that the hand of death
had torn asunder the tenderest fibres of human affection. It was his
speech on the Indian bill. This question had occasioned great em-
barrassment and concern to President Jackson. HUGH L. WHITE was
chairman of the committee ; the weight of the measure devolved upon
him, and procrastination was certain defeat. But he appeared in his
seat, asked no indulgence, made no apology ; and, showing a fortitude
worthy of his character, made one of the ablest and most successful
efforts ever witnessed in that body, and carried the measure. Such
lofty and honorable views of the nature and obligation of a trust, such
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
intense devotion to its fulfilment, have distinguished him in every sta-
tion of life. This honorable and enviable fact in his history will be
remembered when this generation shall have passed away.
One historical fact must not be omitted, although it is of too recent
occurrence to require more than merely to be mentioned : — Judge
WHITE was held up with General Harrison and Mr. Yan Buren as a
candidate at the last presidential election. Defeat in such a contest,
to one of his cast of mind, is better than victory.
Such is a brief, and, as we believe, impartial sketch of the life and
services of HUGH L. WHITE.
THENEWYORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
. .-.CX AND
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*-^C_
EDWAED EVERETT.
THE incidents in the life of EDWARD EVERETT, and his public
labors, have been so various and numerous, that the most concise re-
cord of them will crowd upon the limits within which it is necessary
to confine our biographical notices.
He was born in Dorchester, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. His
father, Oliver Everett, was the son of a farmer in the town of Ded
ham, of the same county, and descended . from one of the original
planters of that place, where the family still remains, like their predeces-
sors for five generations, respectable cultivators of the soil. Deprived,
by the narrow circumstances of his family, of early opportunities of
education, he succeeded in preparing himself for College after he be-
came of age ; and was graduated at Cambridge in 1779. when twen-
ty-eight years old.
In 1782 he was ordained over the New South Church in Boston,
from which he obtained a dismission in 1792. President Allen, in his
biographical dictionary, speaks of his " high reputation," and of
'• the very extraordinary powers of his mind." On leaving the minis-
try, he retired to a small farm in Dorchester ; and among other marks
of the estimation in which he was held, was made a Judge of the Court
of Common Pleas for Norfolk County. He died at the age of 51, on
the 19th of December, 1802.
The subject of this memoir, who was the fourth in a family of
eight children, was born on the llth of April, 1794. His education,
till he was thirteen years of age, was obtained almost exclusively at
the public schools in Dorchester and Boston, to which latter place the
family removed after his father's decease. In 1807 he was sent to the
Academy at Exeter, N. H. Here, under the tuition of Dr. Abbott, he
completed his preparation for College. He entered Havard Univer-
sity at Cambridge, in August, 1807, and graduated in 1811 with the
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
highest honors of his class, and with a reputation which has seldom
been attained at so early an age.
Under the influence of the late Rev. J. S. Buckminster, who was the
minister of his family in Boston, he was induced to select the profes-
sion of Theology. His studies were pursued with the benefit of the
direction and advice of President Kirkland, of whose family he was a
member. In 1812 he was appointed Latin tutor in the University. In
the autumn of 1813, being then less than nineteen and a half years of
age, he was settled as the successor of Buckminster over the Brattle
Street Church in Boston. In addition to the ordinary duties of his
ministry, which he performed with a fidelity and success of which all
who heard him are the witnesses, he wrote and published a Defence
of Christianity, against a peculiar form of infidelity then broached by
some persons of considerable pretensions to learning. This is an
elaborate and /most able work, and displays resources of erudition
which would be thought worthy of admiration in a scholar of ad-
vanced age.
Having been appointed by the Corporation and Overseers of Har-
vard University Professor of Greek Literature, he obtained a dismission
from his congregation, and was inducted into office at Cambridge
when under twenty-one years of age. For the improvement of his
health, and in order to perfect his preparation for the duties to which
he was called as connected with the college, he was permitted and
enabled, by the corporation, to travel in Europe, and to reside for a
season at some of the principal foreign universities.
He embarked from Boston in the spring of 1815, in one of the first
ships that sailed after the conclusion of the treaty of peace with Great
Britain. On arriving at Liverpool he heard of the escape of Napoleon
from Elba, and was in London when the battle of Waterloo was
fought. From London he proceeded towards Germany, accompanied
by his distinguished friend and countryman, Mr. George Ticknor.
They passed a few days at Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Leyden, and the
other Dutch cities ; and proceeded through Westphalia to Gottingen
in the kingdom of Hanover. Here, at this most celebrated German
University he spent more than two years of assiduous application to
study. The vacations were employed in excursions to the principal
cities and universities of North Germany. During one of these vaca-
tions he visited the Hague, where his brother was residing in a diplo-
matic capacity. On another occasion he made a journey on foot
throuo-h the Hartz Mountains.
c")
The winter of 1817 he spent in Paris, acquiring, among other
2
EDWARD EVERETT.
branches of knowledge, an acquaintance with the Italian and modem
Greek languages. Here he enjoyed the society of such men as Vis-
conti, Humboldt, the Abbe de Pradt, Benjamin Constant, Sismondi,
Koray, and General Lafayette. In the spring of 1818 he went over
to England, spent some time at the universities of Oxford and Cam-
bridge, visited Wales and the Lakes, made an excursion to Edinburgh
and the Highlands of Scotland, passed a few days with Sir Walter
Scott at Abbotsford, and became acquainted with Dugald Stewart, and
many of the other leading characters of Scotland and England.
In the fall of 1818 he returned to France, and proceeded to Swit-
zerland and Italy, accompanied by General Lyman, late mayor of Bos-
ton. They took the road to Lyons, passed a few days at Geneva,
visited Chamouni and the glaciers of Mont Blanc, made a circuit
through Lausanne, Bern, Lucerne, Schweitz, Altdorf, and the Valais ;
crossed the Simplon to Milan ; went through Lombardy to Venice,
and then back over the Appenines to Florence. The winter was
spent at Rome, in laborious study. While there, he saw Canova, and
had frequent opportunities of meeting, among other distinguished per-
sons, the members of the Bonaparte family, — the mother of Napoleon,
the princess Borghese his sister, Louis the ex-King of Holland, and
Lucien.
In February, 1819, still accompanied by Mr. Lyman, he went to
Naples ; and after visiting the places of interest in the neighborhood of
that city, crossed over to Bari on the Adriatic ; and thence travelled on
horseback, through a country where there were no carriage roads nor
public conveyances, and much infested with brigands, by the way of
Lecce to Otranto. From Otranto they took passage to Corfu, and
from thence in a row-boat they proceeded to the coast of Albania. At
Yanina, its capital, they were received with great kindness by AH Pa-
cha, and his sons Muctar and Veli Pacha. They bore letters to this fa-
mous chieftain from Lord Byron. Crossing Mount Pindus, and going
north as far as the Vale of Tempe, they returned through Thessaly
to Thermopylae, passing by Pharsalia, and taking the road over
Mount Parnassus to Delphi, Thebes, and Athens. They then made
an excursion over the Isthmus of Corinth to Sparta, and returning
to the north, embarked in the Gulf of Volo for the Dardanelles. After
visiting the site of Troy, they reached Constantinople. This tour over
Greece took place about ten months before the breaking out of the
war with Ali Pacha, which brought on the Greek revolution.
Towards the end of June, 1819, they passed the Balkan Mountains,
not far from the route taken afterwards by the Russian army. Crossing
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the Danube at Nicopol, they went through Wallachia to Bucharest, and
entered Austria at the pass of Rotenthurm, in the Carpathian Moun-
tains. After a week's quarantine in the secluded vale of the Aluda,
they proceeded to Hermanstadt, the capital of Transylvania, and
thence through the Bannat of Temeswar across Hungary to Vien-
na. After leaving this beautiful metropolis, they traversed Austria,
the Tyrol, and Bavaria ; and returning by the way of Paris and Lon-
don, took passage for America, September, 1819. The whole time
spent by Mr. EVERETT in his travels and studies in Europe and Asia,
was nearly four years and seven months.
Shortly after his arrival in Boston, he was solicited to assume the
editorial charge of the North American Review. Its number of sub-
scribers, at that time, was inconsiderable. The effect produced by him
upon its circulation was instantaneous, and great beyond parallel in
our literary history. Many of its numbers passed into a second and
even a third edition. He gave it an American character and spirit ;
and such was the tone he imparted to it, that it commanded, not only
the admiration and applause of his own countrymen, but the respect
and acknowledgments of foreign critics and scholars. He defended
O o
our institutions and character with so much spirit and power, that the
voice of transatlantic detraction was silenced ; and in one memorable
instance, an apology to the people of the United States was drawn
from the editor of a British periodical. His editorial connexion with
the North American Review lasted four years, from 1819 to the close
of 1823 ; but he has continued to contribute to its pages to this day.
It has been enriched by the contributions of many of our ablest
scholars, but no single writer has done so much to secure and maintain
its high stand and wide-spread influence as EDWARD EVERETT ; and
if he had written nothing else, his articles in that journal would con-
stitute a monument of genius, eloquence, erudition, and patriotism,
which would secure to him an enviable reputation. His lectures on
Greek literature, delivered to the students of Harvard University, are
remembered with respectful gratitude by all whose privilege it \vas to
be connected with the college during his continuance in office there.
At the same time he delivered two courses of lectures in Boston on
Ancient Art, which, as well as his collegiate lectures, remain still
unpublished. When, after having received such corrections and ad-
ditions as his mature experience and leisure may enable him to bestow
upon them, they shall be given to the world, those who heard them
are confident that they will be regarded as one of the noblest con-
tributions ever made to our literature.
EDWARD EVERETT.
While residing; at Cambridge, he kept up a correspondence with his
learned friends abroad, particularly with the scholars and patriots of
Greece ; and by his zealous exertions did much to awaken the inter-
est which, throughout the country and in the halls of Congress, was
expressed in behalf of that renowned people in their long and glo-
rious struggle for liberty and independence.
In the discharge of his duties as Professor at Cambridge he was
faithful, constant, and eminently successful. He did not confine him-
self to what was absolutely required of him ; but by voluntary and
gratuitous labors and offices of kindness, conferred benefits upon the
students, which are not forgotten by them, however widely they may
have been dispersed in the course of their subsequent lives. He pre-
pared, while professor, a Greek grammar and a Greek class-book for
the use of the students.
In 1824 he delivered the oration before the Phi Beta Kappa Society
at Cambridge. General Lafayette was among his auditors. This per-
formance established his fame as an orator. About this time a vacan-
cy occurred in the Congressional District to which Cambridge belongs ;
the gentleman who for many years had occupied the seat, having de-
clined a re-election. The most popular political character in the dis-
trict was put in nomination by one of the largest conventions ever as-
sembled within it. A few young men made a volunteer nomination
of EDWARD EVERETT. His talents and qualifications were not un-
known to the intelligent people of Middlesex, and, to the astonish-
ment of all, he was elected by a decisive majority.
Contrary to his expectation at the time of accepting a nomination,
his connexion with the University, as an instructor, ceased on his elec-
tion to Congress ; but he was immediately chosen by the overseers to
fill a vacancy at their board.
In December, 1825, he took his seat in Congress, to which he was
re-elected for five successive Congresses by overwhelming majorities.
His legislative labors were very great. For the whole period often years
he was always on the Committee of Foreign Affairs, a part of the time
its chairman. He drew up many of its reports, particularly that on
the Panama Mission. After having reported to the House on our claims
upon foreign powers for spoliation, he continued to discuss the sub-
ject in the North American Review, and finally collected all the facts
and arguments, in reference to the question, as it stood with each fo-
reign power concerned in it, into a volume.
Much of the credit for having finally procured the adjustment of these
claims is due to him.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
He was chairman of the Select Committee, during Mr. Adams's
Presidency, on the Georgia controversy ; and always took a leading
part, while in Congress, in the efforts that were made to protect the In-
dians from injustice. In the spring of 1827 he addressed a series of
letters to Mr. Canning on the subject of the colonial trade, which were
extensively re-published. He always served on the Library Committee,
and generally on that for the Public Buildings ; together with John
Sergeant, he constituted the minority on the famous Retrenchment
Committee. He drew the report for the Committee in favor of the
heirs of Fulton. Together with the present Governor of Connecticut,
Mr. Ellsworth, he constituted the minority of the Bank investigating
Committee, which was despatched to Philadelphia, and wrote the mi-
nority report. He wrote the minority report of the Committee of
Foreign Relations in reference to the controversy with France, in the
spring of 1835 ; distinguished himself by the high ground he took
on the subject in debate, and supplied, in the last clause of his report,
the words of the resolution unanimously passed, in reference to it, by
the House of Representatives. He also, at the same session, prepared a
statement on French spoliations prior to 1SOO, which was printed by
order of the House.
Such were some of his Congressional labors. He was emphatically,
there as everywhere, a working man. He made himself perfectly ac-
quainted with every subject that came before the House. His Speeches
and Reports exhaust all the facts and arguments that belong to their
topics. His manner of speaking was simple, elegant, and persuasive ;
and always secured attention. He was firm and steadfast in his poli-
tical course ; but urbane, respectful, and just toward his opponents.
He disarmed his enemies, and was faithful to his friends ; and his whole
deportment was consistent with the history of his life, and will be
readily acknowledged by his associates, of every party, to have been
every way becoming the gentleman, the scholar, and the patriot.
In the interim of Congress, during the summer of 1829, he made
an extensive tour through the south-western and western states, and
was everywhere received with marked attentions, having been honored
by public dinners in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio, without distinc-
tion of party. When, in 1833, General Jackson visited New England,
Mr. Everett was selected by his constituents in Charlestown to address
him on Bunker Hill. The reply of the President was expressive of
marked respect for his character and talents.
During the whole of his political career, up to this time, he has been
mindful of the duty he owes to our literature. His pen has been ac-
EDWARD EVERETT.
tive in innumerable ways ; and each year he has been, without cessa-
tion, pouring forth a series of orations, lectures, and addresses of an
historical, patriotic, philanthropic, and classical character ; a large num-
ber of which have been collected in a volume, which is extensively
circulated throughout the country. As a writer and speaker, he is
surpassed by no one in grace, purity, and richness of style. His voice
and manner of delivery are in harmony with the character of his
sentiments. He never wearies, cannot be exhausted, and invariably
causes delight to the hearts of his hearers. Whether with or without
preparation, in the chair of State, from the academical stage, or in the
unforeseen and ever-varying conjunctures of the literary or political
festival, he is never taken by surprise, but adorns all that he touches.
In the spring of 1835, he took his leave of the House of Representa-
tives, having declined a re-election.
On the election of Governor Davis to the Senate of the United
States, in Feburary, 1835 he was nominated as his successor ; and in
the ensuing November was elected by a large majority. In 1836 he
was re-elected to the same office, and in 1837 he received the largest
majority ever given in Massachusetts in a contested election.
Excellent and distinguished as the Governors of Massachusetts have
ever been, it is quite certain that no chief magistrate ever enjoyed a
higher degree of the confidence of the people of that State than ED-
WARD EVERETT. His administration is a model of republican simpli-
city, fidelity, industry, and usefulness. He neglects no duty, and aims
at no display. While in the discharge of his public office, he is digni-
fied, firm, and regardful of the trust committed to him. When not en-
gaged in official duty, he is undistinguishable from the body of his fel-
low-citizens ; attracting attention only by the conscientious carefulness
with which he fulfils every obligation as a citizen, a head of a family,
and a man.
His administration has already begun to show the fruits of his in-
dustry and wisdom in the various ways in which it has advanced the
public welfare. He is steadily and efficiently promoting a reform in
the law, encouraging internal improvement, and the development of
the physical and mechanical energies of the State ; elevating the stand-
ard and diffusing the blessings of education ; increasing the usefulness,
and preventing abuses of the banking system ; revising the militia, ar-
resting the progress of disorder, and providing the means of its sup-
pression ; securing the public archives from destruction and loss, and
unfolding all the capacities of the State, particularly its great resources,
agriculture and the arts. Resolves, laws, and commissions, for these
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
and other important objects, have been suggested or favored by his
influence. When it is considered that he is yet in the prime of life,
and that, blessed with a good constitution, sound and pure health,
and the most temperate, and perfectly disciplined habits of mind and
body, it is not too much to indulge the hope that for many years to
come his benignant and invaluable influence will be felt upon the
refinement, the literature, and the government of Massachusetts and
of the Union.
In this sketch but a small proportion of Governor EVERETT'S writ-
ings have been enumerated. Many of the incidents in his life, and of
his public services, which would claim a place in a full and complete
biography, are necessarily omitted. The circumstances of his early edu-
cation, and the course of his travels and studies when abroad, have
been detailed with some minuteness, from a belief that every intelligent
and reflecting reader will be curious to trace the progress, and ascer-
tain the means by which such a character has been formed.
Besides the professional and political honors to which he has attain-
ed, Governor EVERETT is a member of various scientific and literary
institutions at home and abroad. He is familiarly acquainted, not only
with the ancient monuments of learning, but with the languages and
literature of the principal modern nations ; and is understood, amidst
the cares of office, to keep fresh and bright all his acquirements of
erudition and taste. As a politician, he may, perhaps, encounter the
prejudices of some ; but as a man of genius and learning, a finished
scholar and accomplished gentleman, an ardent republican, a promoter
of his country's welfare, and a defender of its honor, he is undoubtedly
regarded with liberal and just pride, and a sincere good-will, by all
his countrymen, of every party, and in every part of the land.
c. w. u.
PUBLIC LIBRA
SAMUEL CHASE. ,
THE REV. THOMAS CHASE, the father of the subject of these pages,
was the only son of Samuel Chase, of a highly respectable family in
Great Britain. At the age of eighteen Thomas was sent to Eaton Col-
lege, where, by his close application and untiring zeal, he became a
proficient in the Latin and Hebrew languages, and soon after he receiv-
ed the honors of the College. The professorship of those languages
was tendered to him, which he gladly accepted, as his father had lately
suffered some loss in his pecuniary affairs.
In 1738 he fled from the persecution of Cromwell to the Island of
Jamaica, where he practised physic, which science he had studied dur-
ino- his leisure hours at Eaton. He remained in Jamaica but a few
o
months, whence he sailed to the American Colonies ; and Somerset
County, Maryland, was the place he chose for his residence.
In January, 1740, he was married to Matilda Walker, the daughter
of a respectable farmer. The fruit of this union was one son ; and
the day that presented Mr. CHASE an heir deprived him of his amiable
helpmate.
In 1743 Mr. T. Chase was honored with the appointment of rec-
tor of St. Paul's parish in Baltimore, whither he removed with his in-
fant son, who had received the name of SAMUEL.
Deprived of the tender care of a mother, SAMUEL was the sole ob-
ject of his father's love, and under the direction of this kind parent he
received his education.
At the ao-e of eighteen he went to Annapolis, where he studied law
under the direction of John Hammond and John Hall ; and in 1761 he
was admitted to the Provincial Courts.
The year following he was united to Miss Anne Baldwin of An-
napolis, a lady of distinguished merit, pious, amiable, affable and
courteous. This union was blessed with six children, two only of
whom are now living — SAMUEL CHASE, his second son, at present
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
holding an office of judge in the District of Columbia, and Miss Anne
Chase.
Mr. CHASE soon became distinguished as a lawyer, and engaged
with great zeal in opposing the odious and oppressive measures of
Great Britain.
In 1764 he commenced his public life in the General Assembly
of Maryland, and was an active member of that body for upwards of
twenty years.
He was among the first opposers of the Stamp Act, and engaged,
in the most decisive manner, to frustrate its malignant effects. He
* o
was one of the framers of the famous " Declaration of Rights of Mary-
land," and its firm supporter.
His leisure hours were also devoted to his country, in arousing the
people to a sense of their wrongs by essays and pamphlets.
In 1774 he was chosen a delegate to the first Congress.
In 1776 he was again chosen to represent Maryland in the gene-
ral Congress ; and it may be said that Maryland, who had refused
her consent, was induced by his entreaties to unite in declaring the
United States free and independent.
His whole conduct in this Assembly was marked by activity and
zeal, and a firm adherence to the principles of liberty breathed forth
in the Declaration of Independence.
The name of CHASE is found on many of the most important com-
mittees, and he was ever at his post.
In 1782 he was appointed by the Governor of Maryland, Agent and
Trustee of the State of Maryland to recover the stock in the Bank of
England owned by the State ; and for this purpose he proceeded to
England, where he remained one year, enjoying the intimacy of Fox,
Pitt, Burke, and other great luminaries of the day. It would not be
amiss here to state that the late William Pinckney was a student in his
office at this time. Young Pinckney styled Mr. CHASE his " Patron
and his Friend."
In March, 1783, Mr. CHASE was married to Miss Hannah Kilty
Giles of London, by whom he had two daughters ; the eldest, Eliza,
the widow of Dr. Skip with Coale, now residing in Baltimore ; and Mary,
his second daughter, who was married to the eldest son of Commodore
O *
Barney, and who has proved herself an American matron, worthy to be
the daughter of Judge CHASE and daughter-in-law of a hero.
In 1786 the liberality of the late Col. John Eager Howard induced
him to remove to Baltimore.
In 1791 he was appointed Judge of the General Court of Maryland,
SAMUEL CHASE.
and in 1793 he received the appointment of Judge of the Criminal Court
for Baltimore County ; but it being thought unconstitutional to hold
these two offices, he resigned his seat in the General Court.
In 1796 General Washington offered him a seat on the Bench of the
Supreme Court of the United States. It was in the discharge of his
duties in this Court that faction armed his opponents, and he was
arraigned at the bar of his country to defend his slandered character.
His defence on this occasion has been pronounced the most able pro-
duction of the bar of this country ; Aaron Burr, then Vice-President of
the United States, presided at this trial ; and the even-handed justice lie
dealt out was ever a subject of praise by Mr. CHASE.
The late Chief Justice Marshall, in a letter dated May 6th, 1834, to
one of Judge CHASE'S descendants, writes of Judge CHASE : —
" He possessed a strong mind, great legal knowledge, and was a valu-
able judge, whose loss was seriously felt by his survivors.
" He was remarkable also for his vivacity and companionable quali-
ties. He said "many things which were much admired at the time,
but I have not treasured them in my memory so as to be able to com-
municate them."
Judge Duvall, in a letter of the same date, writes : —
" I knew Judge CHASE intimately, from the year 1775 until the time
of his decease. At the commencement of the revolution, Mr. CHASE,
as an advocate at the bar, was at least on a level with the ablest law-
yers in Maryland, and in my judgment he never had a superior.
" He was constantly engaged in public life, and in legislative as-
semblies he was more able and powerful than at the bar.
" The late Chancellor Hanson always said that Mr. CHASE was the
ablest speaker he ever heard in a legislative assembly ; and Mr. Han-
son was capable of forming a correct opinion.
" His knowledge increased with his years. During the Revolutionary
contest it may be said with truth, that in Maryland he was the fore-
most in supporting American rights. Always at his post in the
legislature, he took the lead : and his talents enabled him to be for-
midable and influential. His zeal and patriotism led him into many
political controversies, all of which he maintained with ability.
" Mr. CHASE'S opinions as a Judge of the Supreme Court are held in
high estimation. Whilst on the bench of the General Court of Mary-
land, his opinions were applauded. He was an able civilian and
jurist.
" The truth of these general remarks, as to Mr. CHASE'S character
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
is known to every man who lived in his time and during the revo-
lution."
In his private life he was a kind husband, a fond parent, and a le-
nient master. For many months he had suffered under a severe dis-
ease, ossification of the heart, and had purposed a journey to the
North for the benefit of his health ; but on the day previous he was
taken suddenly ill, he called for writing materials, but it was too late ;
and he died without making a will, on the 19th of June, 1811, at the
mature age of seventy years, a great and good man.
SIMON KENTON.
To many of our readers the name of General SIMON KENTON is now
probably presented for the first time : he belonged to a class of
hardy pioneers, to whose exertions and privations the present race of
civilized man in the west is greatly indebted. He was one of the
first white men who planted corn in the now great and wealthy state
of Kentucky; as such, we have in his biography to deal with "hair
breadth 'scapes," and the usual amount of deadly warfare, which
characterized the period of the early settlement of the banks of the
Ohio. To preserve from oblivion the characters of men who were
the instruments to prepare the way for peopling the western states,
is the duty of the biographer. SIMON KENTON'S memory and brave
conduct should be cherished, and his name should descend to pos-
terity with those of Boon, Clark, and others.
Our hero was born in the month of March, 1755, in Fauquier
county, Virginia. His father emigrated from Ireland, and his
mother was of Scottish descent, her ancestors having been among
the first settlers of Virginia. His parents being in middling circum-
stances, he was employed till the age of sixteen in the cultivation
of corn and tobacco. At that period an incident occurred which
changed the destiny of his future life.
One of his father's neighbors, named Veach, had a son who mar-
ried a lady to whom young KENTON was attached ; some circum-
stances occurred at the wedding, which Simon attended without
invitation, that were construed by him into an affront ; he was
struck during the evening by William Veach, while in the act of
drinking ; and not content with this indignity, while prostrate from
the blow, William gave him a severe beating, which sent him home
with black eyes and sore bruises. He felt himself disgraced, and
in silence determined to be revenged. Watching his opportunity,
he soon after found himself alone with Veach, and challenged him
to the combat. He would accept of no apology. Being victorious
over his fallen adversary, KENTON, roused by the remembrance of
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the insult to double fury, exhibited so little mercy to his foe, that
when his anger was expended he was greatly alarmed at the ap-
pearance of Veach, whom he thought, from his inanimate features,
must be dead. Perceiving no signs of returning life, and greatly
alarmed at the consequences of his blind fury, he started for home.
By the way, reflection on the consequences of his conduct filled him
with alarm; the horrors of punishment, and probably of the gibbet,
overcame his resolution of returning, and he resolved on instant
flight. Without waiting to see and consult his parents or friends,
he struck off in a northwestern direction, and crossed the Alleghany
mountains on the Gth of April, 1771. At Ise's ford he changed his
name to that of Simon Butler. A prey to remorse at having committed
a crime so contrary to his natural disposition, he fell in with three
men who were preparing to descend the Ohio river ; and having
previously by his labor procured a good rifle, he joined the party,
and proceeded to Fort Pitt, (now Pittsburg.) Here he formed a
friendship with the notorious Simon Girty, who was the means, at
a future period, of his rescue from the Indians when doomed to the
stake. The party he had joined being given up, KENTON associated
himself with another, and descended the river, occasionally stopping
at any point where pleasure or the prospect of game tempted them
to halt, hunting, trapping, or dancing with the Indian girls, until
they arrived at the mouth of the Great Kenawha, and thence up
Elk river, where they built a camp and employed the winter in
trapping. In the spring of 1772, they descended the river to the
Ohio, where they sold their peltry to a French trader, and procured
ammunition and clothing.
Left now for a year in doubt as to the fact of his being a mur-
derer, he appears to have conceived that, as he intended no such
act, he was in reality not guilty ; his anxiety \vas all turned upon
those whom he had left in ignorance of his own fate. The summer
of 1772 was passed in hunting, and the winter in the old camp,
where in March the party was surprised by Indians, and one of
their number killed ; the others escaped with their lives, leaving
every thing else to their enemy. With legs and bodies lacerated
and inflamed, KENTON and a companion, on the sixth day, met an-
other party near the mouth of the Kenawha, by whom they were
received with kindness. Their wounds being dressed, they entered
the employment of Mr. Briscoe, then endeavouring to form a set-
tlement on the Great Kenawha, contemporaneously with the found-
ing of Wheeling, Grave Creek, and Long Reach. KENTON again
SIMON KENTON.
employed his first earnings in procuring a good rifle, and imme-
diately joined a trapping party and proceeded to the Ohio. After
various adventures, we find him, in 1774, when an Indian war be-
came inevitable, with the other strollers on the river retreating to
Fort Pitt. Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia, having raised an
army to chastise the aggressors, KENTON was employed as a spy to
precede the troops and report the condition of the country. The
army crossed the Ohio at the mouth of the Hockhocking, and
cautiously proceeded to the Pickaway towns, on the Scioto, where
the natives sued for peace. No sooner was this granted and the
troops safely ensconced in Fort Pitt, than the treaty was broken,
and Colonel Lewis was sent to enforce the articles or chastise the
enemy, and KENTON'S services were again in requisition. On his
discharge he turned to his old pursuit of trapping, in the course of
which, finding a fine cane-growing tract of land back of Limestone,
now Maysville, in Kentucky, the party formed a camp, and with
their tomahawks commenced clearing a small piece of ground : from
the remains of some corn, procured from a French trader for the
purpose of parching, they selected a small quantity, and planted, it
is believed, the first corn on the north side of Kentucky river.
Tending their crop with no other implement than their tomahawks,
they remained undisputed masters of the soil until they had the
pleasure of eating roasting ears and of seeing their infant plantation
produce the ripened fruit. This spot, called Kenton's station, was
about one mile from the present town of Washington, in Mason
county.
On making an excursion in search of buffalo, then roving in vast
herds in Kentucky, he met another settler, named Stoner, who
advised him to try a spot further south, and he passed the winter
forty-five miles from his late residence. In the spring, the American
revolution being in progress, and the natives stimulated by the
British to destroy the infant settlements, the white men were
obliged to flee. KENTON joined Major (afterwards General) George
Rogers Clark, sent out by Virginia to protect the settlers. On their
return with a party from an excursion, made to bring in a supply
of ammunition that had been deposited on an island in the Ohio by
Major Clark, they found the people at their fort in such a state of
alarm, from a recent attack of the savages, that it was resolved to
abandon it and join the station called Harrod's, where a terrible
siege was sustained with unflinching courage, in the midst of alarms
and carnage. KENTON again accepted the office of spy, or scout,
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
and by his faithful discharge of his arduous duties, proved himself
worthy of the confidence reposed in him ; he was always successful
in giving the fort timely notice of a meditated attack, and to assist
in preparing for defence. If we had space to describe the perilous
encounters between KENTON and the Indians at this period, our
narrative would present a series of daring deeds and courageous
effort quite equal to the most renowned in western annals. The
sufferings of the garrison were extreme ; their cattle were carried
off or destroyed, and neither corn nor other vegetables could be
cultivated.
KENTON now accompanied Major Clark on an expedition to
Okaw, or Kaskaskia, where they surprised the French commander,
and took possession of the fort. He was then despatched to ascer-
tain the strength of the fort at Vincennes, which having accom-
plished after three days' lurking in the neighbourhood, he sent one
of his companions with the intelligence to Clark, while he and an-
other prosecuted their journey to Harrodsburgh. He then joined
several expeditions under Daniel Boon, and signalized his courage
to the entire satisfaction of that celebrated pioneer.
Ease becoming irksome to our hero, in 1778, he joined Alexander
Montgomery and George Clark in an expedition to Ohio, with the
avowed purpose of obtaining horses from the Indians ; proceeding
cautiously to Chillicothe, they fell in with a drove of horses that
were feeding in the rich prairies, and capturing seven, travelled at
full speed for the river. On reaching the Ohio, the horses refused
to breast the surge raised by a high wind. Satisfied that they were
pursued, they were about to cross and leave their prizes, but un-
willing to abandon their valuable capture, they were endeavouring
to collect them for another attempt, when KENTON heard a whoop
which alarmed him for the safety of the party. Tying his horse, he
crept with stealthy tread to observe his enemy. Just as he reached
the high bank he met the Indians on horseback ; raising his trusty
rifle, he took aim at the foremost rider ; his gun flashed, and he
was obliged to retreat. Amidst fallen trees, he was in a fair way
to elude his pursuers, when a warrior pounced upon him, and a
second slipping behind him, clasped him in his arms. Overpowered
by numbers, he surrendered after a desperate resistance. Montgo-
mery boldly attempted his rescue, but was shot, and his bloody
scalp exhibited in triumph to the prisoner. Clark made his escape.
The captive was treated in the usual brutal manner, tied to an
unruly horse, and inarched back towards the village. At night he
SIMON KENTON.
was laid on his back, his legs extended, drawn apart, and fastened
to two saplings or stakes, while his arms were extended and made
fast to a pole. A rope was fastened round his neck and tied to
another stake. In this miserable state he passed three wretched
nights, a prey to gnats, mosquetoes, and the cold. On arriving at Old
Town, or Chillicothe, he was beaten in the most cruel manner, and
doomed to run the gauntlet. Breaking through the lines of warriors,
each armed with a hickory whip, he was about to escape to the town
for refuge, when an idle Indian fresh for the chase, whom he met,
soon overtook and threw him. In a moment the whole party in
pursuit came up, and fell to cuffing and kicking him with all their
fury ; his clothes were all stripped from him, and he was left naked
and exhausted. Some humane squaws revived him with food, and
he was taken to the council house to be tried for his life.
Sentence of death was formally passed upon the prisoner, and his
place of execution it was resolved should be Wepatomika, (now
Zanesville.) Next morning he was hurried away to the place of
execution, and on the road was severely whipped and maltreated.
Attempting to escape, he was caught and more closely pinioned ;
the young men rolled him in the mud, and brought him to the brink
of the grave. At Wapatomika, among others who came to see him
was his quondam acquaintance Simon Girty, who recognised KEN-
TON, and by his influence and eloquence in the council, persuaded
the Indians to give him into his charge. With him he lived a wild,
Indian-like life for some time, but the savages having returned from
an unsuccessful foray, sent for KENTON, and at a grand council he
was again sentenced to die, all the efforts of Girty proving on this
occasion unavailing ; he, however, finally persuaded them to con-
vey their prisoner to Sandusky, where vast numbers would be col-
lected to receive their presents from the British government ; to this
place he was conducted by five Indians ; on the route, the compas-
sion of the celebrated chief, Logan, was excited in his behalf, and
at Logan's instigation, a Canadian Frenchman appeared at the
council of Upper Sandusky, who succeeded in having him taken to
Detroit and delivered up as a prisoner of war to the British.
At Detroit, KENTON was handed over to the commanding officer,
and lodged in the fort as a prisoner of war. The British officer
gave the Indians some remuneration for his life, and they left him
free from apprehensions of the faggot and the tomahawk. His
health was soon restored. Drawing half rations from the British,
he earned some money by dint of hard work. Leisure from scenes
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of active life was, however, not consonant with his feelings or
habits, and the winter of 1778-79 passed heavily. Among the
prisoners were some of his old associates, with two of whom KEN-
TON concerted, in the spring, a plan of escape. In this they were
aided by a lady of the place, the wife of an Indian trader, named
Harvey, who had formed a friendship for one of them. By her
assistance, guns, ammunition, and food, were procured and secreted
in a hollow tree near the town. Early one morning they left De-
troit. Steering their course by the stars, they eluded pursuit and
gained the prairie, where they depended for sustenance on their
rifles. In thirty-three days they reached the falls of the Ohio, in
July, 1779.
KENTON thence proceeded to Vincennes to join his old companion
in arms, General Clark: alone he traversed the whole distance
without any serious adventure; but finding the fort in a state of
inglorious quiet, he returned. He distinguished himself during the
invasion of Kentucky by the British and Indians in 1779, having
been appointed a captain, and commanding an active and numerous
company of volunteers, principally from Harrod's station, who
traversed the untrodden wilderness and drove all opposition before
them.
After the disbanding of his company, KENTON remained in the
employ of the several stations till 1782. At this period he heard,
for the first time, from his long-abandoned parents, and learned
that William Veach had recovered and was still living. He now
assumed his own name, and after commanding another successful
expedition against the marauding Indians on the Great Miami, he
returned to Harrod's, and having acquired some valuable lands,
concluded to make a settlement on a fertile spot on Salt river. A
few families joined him, reared block-houses, cleared some ground,
and planted com; which being gathered, he concluded to visit his
parents. After thirteen years absence, passed amidst scenes of great
privation and suffering, he had the satisfaction of finding his father
and all his family living. He visited Veach, and their old quarrel
was mutually forgiven. His glowing descriptions of the fertility of
Kentucky induced his parents to accompany him on his return, and
the family set out for the promised land, but his father died ere their
journey was accomplished. KENTON remained at Salt river till
July, 1784, and had the pleasure of witnessing the growth of his
settlement, to which numerous emigrants now flocked. He thence
removed to near Maysville, where he formed the first permanent
SIMON KENTON.
station on the northeast side of Licking river. Thrones of emi-
<— > o
grants were attracted to the spot : the Indians were successfully
kept at bay by the activity and intelligence of the master spirit of
KENTON, who was ever foremost when danger threatened, and who
was looked up to as the main dependence in case of difficulty or
discouragement. His opponent was sometimes the celebrated chief
Tecumseh, whose tact and intrepidity it was not always in the
power of our veteran to conquer.
In 1793, General Wayne came down the Ohio with the regular
army, and formed an encampment below Cincinnati, called Hob-
son's choice. Making a requisition for men on Kentucky, KENTON
was, among the number, placed as a major at the head of as choice
spirits as ever guarded a frontier, and was employed in various
services. As little was effected by this party, our narrative need not
be detained in relating the particular events of the campaign. The
Indian war was now happily terminated, and an unprecedented
number of emigrants were attracted to the shores of the Ohio. Land
became valuable ; and as there was great irregularity and want of
precision in the first entries and surveys, the foundation was laid
for those subsequent disputes which have given occasion to a series
of litigation, involving the hard-earned estates of the original set-
tlers too frequently in ruin. Although KENTON was considered one
of the wealthiest inhabitants in real estate, yet one of his land claims
failed after another, till he was completely involved in a labyrinth
of lawsuits. Every advantage was taken of his want of education
and ignorance of the law, which in a few years stripped this honest
man of his hardly-earned wealth, and sent him, in the evening of
his days, penniless and dejected, to spend his few remaining years
in comparative poverty and want.
About the year 1800, he abandoned the soil which he had ren-
dered tenantable by his courage and endurance, and settled on the
waters of the Mad river, in the state of Ohio. In 1805, he was
made a brigadier-general of militia. In 1810, he joined the Metho-
dist church, and experienced that consolation which religion alone
can impart.
In 1812, when more than sixty years of age, some of his youthful
fire still remained, and he was wont to converse with spirit of his
former deeds of arms. In 1813, when his old companion, Governor
Shelby, came to Urbana at the head of the Kentucky troops, KEN-
TON could remain no longer inactive. He mounted his horse and
joined the venerable governor, who gladly received him as a privi-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
leged member of his military family. He crossed the lake, and
accompanied General Harrison and Governor Shelby to Maiden,
and thence to the Thames ; was present in the battle, and played
his part with his usual intrepidity. Here ended the military career
of SIMON KENTON, a man who has probably passed through as
great a variety of border adventures as any of our most renowned
western pioneers.
About ten years since, the American government awarded KEN-
TON a meager pension, which secured him from absolute want in
his declining years. His narrative, had it been prepared at length
with suitable care, would have formed a volume not less inte-
resting than the most marvellous fiction. Enough has been here
related to exhibit the outlines of a character remarkable for its
power of endurance and its intrepidity. Like all the hardy sons of
the west, KENTON'S hospitality was always commensurate with his
means : during his prosperity his house was open to the wealthy
emigrant and the benighted traveller. Many of the descendants of
the earlier settlers still cherish the memory of his virtues.
The portrait from which our engraving has been made, and
which is certified by the immediate friends and neighbours of Gene-
ral KENTON to be a most accurate likeness, was taken at his resi-
dence expressly for this work, and but about three months before
his death.
This stanch pioneer, the companion of Boon, whose adventures
he emulated and equalled, died in Logan county, Ohio, on the 3d
day of April, 1836, aged about eighty-two. How astonishing is it,
when we look over Kentucky, Ohio, and the surrounding states,
now teeming with millions of civilized inhabitants, to reflect that
one who wandered through them when beasts of prey and the
more savage Indian were their sole occupants, has but just fallen
into the grave !
ABRAHAM BALDWIN.
IT was justly remarked, by one* well qualified to form a correct
estimate of the character he described, when speaking of the subject
of this notice, that " the annals of our country have rarely been
adorned with a character more venerable, or a life more useful than
that of ABRAHAM BALDWIN. War brings its animation, and creates
its own heroes ; it often rears them up to fame with as little assist-
ance from native genius as from study, or from moral and political
virtue. It is in times of peace that an illustrious name is hardest
earned, and most difficult to be secured, especially among enlight-
ened republicans, where an equality of right and rank leaves nothing
to the caprice of chance ; where every action is weighed in its
proper balance, and every man compared not only with his neigh-
bor, but with himself; his motives being tested by the uniform
tendency of his measures."
ABRAHAM BALDWIN was born in Connecticut, in November,
1754, and received his education, very early, at the university at
New Haven. He was one of the best classical and mathematical
scholars of the age in which he lived. He was employed as one
of the professors in this college during the greater part of the Ame-
rican war ; at the close of which he began the practice of law, and
went to establish himself in the state of Georgia. He arrived at
Savannah in the beginning of 1784 ; he was immediately admitted
a counsellor at the Georgia bar, and in three months after he was
elected a member of the state legislature. During the first session
of that body after his election, he performed a service for the people
of that state, for which their posterity will bless his memory. In-
deed, if he had done nothing for them since, this action alone would
have immortalized him there. He originated the plan of the Uni-
versity of Georgia, drew up the charter, and with infinite labor and
Joel Barlow,
i
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
patience, in vanquishing all sorts of prejudices and removing every
obstruction, he persuaded the assembly to adopt it. This instrument
endowed the university with forty thousand acres of excellent land,
required it to establish one central seat for the higher branches of
education, and a secondary college in every county in the state ;
all dependant on the principal seminary.
These lands were then uncultivated ; the state itself was new.
Within a few years, however, the rents of the university lands ena-
bled the trustees to erect the buildings and organize the institution.
Its principal seat was established at Athens, on the Oconee river,
and its first president was Josiah Meigs, a man equally eminent for
mathematical and chemical science, and legal and classical erudition.
John Milledge, governor of the state, and afterward the colleague
of Mr. BALDWIN in the senate of the United States, was associated
with him in the labor of bringing forward this establishment : and
the trustees caused to be erected and placed within the walls of the
first college, a marble monument to Baldwin as founder of the insti-
tution, and to Milledge, his associate. Nor is this the only instance
in which we find their names connected by monumental acts of
public authority. Milledgeville is the shire town of Baldwin
county, and the seat of the state government.
Mr. BALDWIN had not been two years in Georgia when he was
elected member of congress. This was in 1785, to take his seat in
17SG ; from that time till the day of his death, he was, without a
moment's intermission, a member of congress from that state, either
as delegate under the old constitution, until the year 17S9; repre-
sentative under the new, until the year 1799; and senator from that
time till his death. And the term for which he was last elected had
still four years to run from the 4th of March, 1807, the day of his
decease.
There had probably been no other instance of such a long and
uninterrupted series of confidence and service among the members
of the American congress. And what is more remarkable, on the
first day that he was confined to his house in his last illness, only
eight days before his death, he told his friends that during his
twenty-two years of public service, that day, according to his best
recollection, was the first that he had been absent from his public
duties.
Mr. BALDWIN was a member of the convention that framed the
present constitution of the United States. This he always considered
as the greatest service that he ever performed for his country ; and
ABRAHAM BALDWIN.
his estimate is doubtless just. He was an active member of that
most illustrious and meritorious body. Their deliberations were in
secret ; but we have good authority for saying, that some of the
essential clauses of the invaluable, and we hope everlasting, com-
pact, which they presented to their country, owe their origin and
insertion to ABRAHAM BALDWIN.
His manner of conducting public business was worthy of the
highest commendation; he may have wanted ambition to make
himself brilliant, but he never wanted industry to render himself
useful. His oratory was simple, forcible, convincing. His maxim
of never asserting any thing but what he believed to be true, could
not fail to be useful in carrying conviction to others. Patient of
contradiction, and tolerant to the wildest opinions, he could be as
indulgent to the errors of judgment in other men, as if he had stood
the most in need of such indulgence for himself.
During the violent agitation of parties, he was always moderate,
but firm ; relaxing nothing in his republican principles, but retaining
all possible charity for his former friends, who might be supposed
to have abandoned theirs. He lived without reproach, and proba-
bly died without an enemy.
The state of society would be rendered much better than it is, if
the private lives of virtuous men could be as well known as their
public lives ; that they might be kept clearly in view as objects of
imitation. We are creatures of habit, and our habits are formed as
much by repeating after others as after ourselves. Men, therefore,
mistake a plain moral principle when they suppose it meritorious
to conceal their good actions from the eye of the world. On the
contrary, it is a part of their duty to let such actions be known ;
that they may extend their benefits by a sort of reproduction, and
be multiplied by imitation.
Mr. BALDWIN'S private life was full of beneficent and charitable
deeds, which he was too studious to conceal from public notice.
Having never been married, he had no family of his own ; and his
constant habits of economy and temperance, left him the means of
assisting many young men in their education and their establishment
in business. Besides which, his father's family presented an ample
field for his benevolence. Six orphans, his half-brothers and sisters,
were left to his care by the father's death in the year 1787; and
the estate that was to support them proved insolvent. He paid the
debts of the estate, quit-claimed his proportion to these children,
and educated them all in a great measure at his own expense.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Mr. BALDWIN was less distinguished by the brilliancy of his
talents, or acuteness of reasoning, than by his strength of mind and
soundness of judgment ; slow and deliberate in making up his
conclusions, he examined thoroughly every subject on which he
acted, but when he became satisfied as to the correct course, no
one followed it in a more undeviating line. He measured every
question, whether of principle or policy, by what he deemed to be
established rules in the organization and administration of govern-
ment, as developed in the political history of the mother country,
the colonies, and states, and embodied in their several constitutions.
Having served in the revolutionary war as a chaplain in the
Connecticut brigade, he acquired a practical knowledge of the
radical defects of the old confederation, in the conduct of our mili-
tary operations : his subsequent experience in civil life, convinced
him of the imperious necessity of avoiding the imminent danger ot
a dissolution of the confederacy, by the establishment of a new
system of government on the authority of the people of the states,
instead of that of state legislatures. Hence, he was the zealous
advocate in congress for a National Convention to frame the con-
stitution of a federal government, and as a member of that conven-
tion, active in its deliberations, laborious in effecting that important
result, and afterwards in procuring its adoption by the people.
Fully satisfied that in the institution of "one new government out
of thirteen old ones," with such powers over each, and all, as were
indispensable for federal purposes, enabling it not only to make, but
execute its own laws on the enumerated subjects which had been
confided to its jurisdiction, the greatest possible good had been
effected for the country. Mr. BALDWIN constantly acted on this
conviction. Looking to the constitution as the bond of union,
which united the states by a law which the people of each had
declared to be supreme throughout the land, he was in the constitu-
tional sense of the term, a federalist ; as one of its framers, he ap-
proved of the federative principles of the constitution, whereby a
government was instituted neither consolidated nor popular, but
federal in its origin, organization, administration, and action. After
its adoption by the people, he took it as a fundamental law, the
written text, declaring the will of the supreme power, which was
competent and had ordained it as the standard rule of action by
which to measure the powers of the federal government, and its
respective departments, as well as those reserved to the several
states. Whatever may have been his individual opinion as to any
ABRAHAM BALDWIN.
detailed provisions, while the convention were deliberating upon
them, he never suffered them to bias his construction ; nor Avith all
his veneration of his illustrious associates, did he regard the sense
of that body "as the oracular guide in expounding the constitution."
He followed a safer guide, he saw and read what the convention
proposed, and the people adopted ; regarding as of little importance
the discussions which led to the great results, whether in the
meetings of the people, in party writings, or the reasoning of the
members of the general or state conventions. A constitution was
adopted, a constitution was to be construed, as a written declaration
of the will of sovereign power. Mr. BALDWIN took it as he found
it? made it his rule of action; following and obeying it as a disciple,
he neither sought to enlarge or narrow its provisions by any theory
or doctrine not declared in terms, or by necessary consequence
therefrom.
Acting under the influence of these principles throughout a long
course of public service, he never lost sight of the " balance of the
federal constitution;" he found this balance by viewing all its parts,
reconciling each with the others, with a steady determination " to
give the greatest effect to them all," according to the plain import
and knowledge of the words and terms.
But although Mr. BALDWIN was in these respects a federalist, he
was in the political sense of the term a democrat; his principles of
government and policy, were those which had denoted the line
between the two great parties into which the country was divided
as they were developed at the organization of the government,
whether on questions of power or policy. Considering the constitu-
tion as a direct grant by the people of the several states, in their
sovereign capacity as each an independent state, he gave it full effect
in all things to which its provisions extended, according to their
received acceptation. In assigning a meaning to any word or
phrase of doubtful import, he took it in connexion with the whole
instrument, its bearing on other parts, considering words and
phrases as borrowed from former use, and used in the same sense
in which they had always been taken. Though he was from his
youth devoted to the principles of the revolution, yet his patriotism
was not of that morbid and sensitive nature, as to prevent him from
resorting to English books and laws to ascertain the definition of
o o
terms which were found in the constitution, as the understood sense
in which they had been adopted and used by those who framed
and ratified that instrument; justly thinking that it could not have
NATIONAL PORTRAi' S.
been intended to give to old words or terms a new meaning, with-
out some declaration to that effect. But while he conceded to the
federal government the exercise of its enumerated powers to the full
extent of the grant, by a liberal rather than a contracted construction
of its provisions, he steadily refused his assent to any measures,
which, in principle or operation, tended to impair the reserved
powers or rights of the states or people, by any train of refined or
ingenious reasoning, or reference to doubtful authority. Whenever
a question arose, involving any collision between the relative powers
of the executive and legislative departments of the government, he
uniformly asserted the rights of the latter, adopting this as a political
maxim, that " every particle of law-making power in the constitu-
tion granted, was vested in congress ;" he opposed its exercise by
any other department, in any mode which partook of the character,
or by any act which could have the effect of legislation. Fully
convinced that the " balance of the constitution" consisted in the
steadfast adherence to these principles, they were his guide amidst
all the conflicts of party, and the exciting questions which continued
from the organization of the government to agitate the country. In
following them he acquired and retained till his death, the confi-
dence of the party to which he was attached, the respect of that
which he opposed, the approbation of the people and state he repre-
sented, and died with the consciousness of having faithfully and
fearlessly filled the measure of his public duties..
His last illness was so short, and his death so unexpected, that
none of his relatives, except his brother-in-law, were able to be
present at his funeral. But it seemed as if the public in general
were his near relatives. There have been rarely witnessed more
general and genuine marks of regret, at the loss of any of the great
benefactors of our country, particularly among the members of
congress from Georgia. In that state his loss was most deeply felt,
though very sensibly perceived in the councils of the union.
Though his funeral was two days after congress dissolved, many
members stayed expressly to attend it. His remains were deposited
by the side of his old friend, General James Jackson, his former
colleague, whom he had followed to the grave just one year before.
ART
• c -
. .ona,
in. . .
JOHN RANDOLPH,
THE interest excited by the first appearance in public life of JOHN
RANDOLPH continued until he had passed away from among the
living, and did not die with him. His aboriginal descent, extraordi-
nary eloquence, and independent but eccentric course through life,
seemed to unite in securing to every thing he said or did, an atten-
tion on the part of his countrymen, which has been given to but
few of the great American family. He was born on the 2d of June,
1773, at Matoax, the seat of his father, three miles above Peters-
burg, in the state of Virginia. His English ancestors were from
Yorkshire, and he was descended, through his paternal grandmother
Jane Boiling, in a direct line from the celebrated Pocahontas. Like
Sir Walter Scott, and other celebrated men, he appears, from his own
account, prepared in 1S13 for a nephew who was desirous to "know
something of his life," to have received a very irregular education.
He was sent to a country school at an early age, where he learned
the rudiments of the Latin language, and had mastered the Greek
grammar perfectly, when the state of his health induced his mother to
send him to Bermuda, where he remained more than a year, losing
all his Greek, but reading with great avidity many of the best Eng-
lish authors. After his return to the United States, he was sent, Avith
his brother Theodorick, to Princeton college, where they entered
the grammar school in March, 1787. He there attracted the atten-
tion of Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, the president of the college,
who thought that he found, in the Indian descent of his pupil, some
support to a theory, which he gave to the world in an Essay more
remarkable for its ingenuity than its accurate statement of facts. In
the year 1788, after the death of his mother, he was sent to college
in New York, but returned to Virginia in the summer of 1790 ; and
in the autumn of that year came to Philadelphia, with the view of
studying law under the direction of Edmund Randolph, then re-
cently appointed attorney-general of the United States. Beyond
almost the first book of Blackstone, he seems to have done nothing
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
towards being admitted to the bar ; and from that time till June,
1 794, when he became of age, he appears to have led an irregular,
desultory life, with scarcely a fixed residence, and no decided object
of pursuit.
His reading, according to his own account given to a relative at
a later period of his life, is so indicative of the man that any attempt
to portray him would be defective without it. " I think you have
never read Chaucer. Indeed, I have sometimes blamed myself for
not cultivating your imagination when you were young. It is a
dangerous quality, however, for the possessor. But if from my life
were to be taken the pleasure derived from that faculty, very little
would remain. Shakspeare and Milton, and Chaucer and Spencer,
and Plutarch, and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, and Don
Quixote, and Gil Bias, and Tom Jones, and Gulliver, and Robinson
Crusoe, ' and the tale of Troy divine,' have made up more than half
my worldly enjoyment. To these ought to be added Ovid's Meta-
morphoses, Ariosto, Dryden, Beaumont and Fletcher, Southern,
Otway, Pope's Rape and Eloisa, Addison, Young, Thomson, Gay,
Goldsmith, Gray, Collins, Sheridan, Cowper, Byron, ^Esop, La
Fontaine, Voltaire's Charles XII, Mahomet and Zaire, Rousseau's
Julie, Schiller, Madame de Stael — but above all, Burke. One of
the first books I ever read was Voltaire's Charles XII; about the
same time, 1780 — 1, I read the Spectator, and used to steal away
to the closet containing them. The letters from his correspondents
were my favorites. I read Humphry Clinker also, that is Win's
and Tabby's letters, with great delight ; for I could spell at that age
pretty correctly. Reynard the Fox, came next, I think ; then Tales
of the Genii and Arabian Nights. This last, and Shakspeare, were
my idols. I had read them, with Don Quixote, Gil Bias, Quintus
Curtius, Plutarch, Pope's Homer, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver, Tom
Jones, Orlando Furioso, and Thomson's Seasons, before I was eleven
years of age ; also Goldsmith's Roman History, 2 vols. Svo., and an
old history of Braddock's War. At about eleven, (1784 — 5,) Percy's
Reliques and Chaucer became great favorites, and Chatterton and
Rowley. I then read Young and Gay, &c. Goldsmith I never saw
till 1787."*
In 1799, he made his first appearance in public life as a candi-
date for a seat in congress, and was elected. He owed his success
Letters to Dudley, p. 190.
2
JOHN RANDOLPH.
to his eloquence alone ; for he possessed neither family influence
nor connexion in the district, and was a mere boy in appear-
ance. The all-absorbing political questions arising out of Mr.
Madison's celebrated Virginia Resolutions of 1798, of which Mr.
RANDOLPH was a strenuous supporter, were then deeply agitating
the country. Patrick Henry, accused of having abandoned his
early principles, appeared at the same time, and for the last time in
his life, as a candidate for the assembly, avowedly in opposition to
the resolutions ; for he approved of the alien and sedition laws as
good measures. This state of affairs brought these two remarkable
men before the people in mutual opposition; and tradition has
handed down to us an anecdote characteristic of both. Mr. RAN-
DOLPH was addressing the people in answer to Colonel Henry, when
a countryman said to the latter, "Come, colonel, let us go — it is not
worth while to listen to that boy" " Stay, my friend," replied the
veteran statesman, "there is an old man's head on that boy's
shoulders."
Mr. RANDOLPH found the party whose measures he supported in
the minority when he entered congress. His fearless course, ready,
sarcastic wit, and general power as a public speaker, soon placed
him among the most distinguished of the opponents of the adminis-
tration then in power, and attracted the attention and admiration
of the party against which they were exerted, as well as of that of
which he soon became the leader. The records of his exertions are
widely spread and scanty, and he pronounced most of the sketches
of his speeches to be inaccurate.* No collection of American
speeches, however, has been deemed complete without some of
them ; and, imperfectly as they have come to us, the impress of
genius is upon them all.
With the party which supported the administration of Mr. Jeffer-
son, Mr. RANDOLPH, after a time, found himself in the majority, and
he was for several sessions chairman of the committee of ways and
means. It has been suggested, that with the majority his efforts
were less propitious to his reputation than those which arose from
the excitement of opposition; that business habits and discipline of
mind were wanting; and that the position of assailant best suited
his peculiar disposition, and was his true element. In 1806, he
* " The least inaccurate sketches of my speeches will be found in the ' Spirit of '76,' but
they arc extremely imperfect." — Letters to Dudley, p. 116.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
joined the opposition, and is said to have declared that his own
opposition to the then administration would be "perpetual." The
journals indeed, of the house, from the period we have mentioned,
exhibit him in the character of its industrious assailant; and the
warfare which he carried on against it, in the shape of calls for in-
formation, in relation to the well known allegations against General
Wilkinson, will be long remembered.
About this period of his life a change came over him, the cause
of which even his friends could not understand ; he became moody,
morose, capricious, suspicious of his friends, sarcastic and bitter
towards those he loved best, and a riddle to all around him. This
state of things was explained at last, in 1811, by a paroxysm of
insanity, attributable to the ill health to which he had been subject
almost from the time he arrived at manhood, and of which he seems
to have had some lurking consciousness himself.* Of this malady
he had frequent returns during his lifetime ;t but upon political sub-
jects his mind was clear; and many of his constituents seemed to
think of him as the Mohammedans do of madmen, that on such sub-
jects, at least, he was inspired, and they might commit their interests
to his charge with safety. It will not be difficult to account, after
what has been just stated, for the numerous instances of eccentricity
which were made known to the world through every medium, and
were used as materials for every sort of attack upon his principles
and person.
On the 27th of February, 1808, Mr. RANDOLPH united with his
friend Joseph Clay, and fifteen other members of congress, in a pro-
test against the nomination of Mr. Madison for the presidency.
This proceeding, which may be considered as a declaration of war
upon the administration which was to follow the nomination, gave
an earnest of what his course would be ; and he was true to the
declaration. His speech on the 10th of December, 1811, was di-
rected against the raising of an addition to the army, and against
the war against Great Britain, which he saw approaching; and
was strongly marked by the Anglo-mania which seems afterwards
to have attended him to his last hour. He followed up his speech
of the 10th of December, 1811, by moving a resolution, "that the
* Speech of the 10th of December, 1811, in the house of representatives, on the second
resolution of the committee of foreign relations, " that an additional force of ten thousand
men ought to be raised," &c.
f Letters to Dudley, p. 203, August, 1818.
JOHN RANDOLPH.
president of the United States be authorized to employ the regular
army of the United States when not engaged in actual service, and
when in his judgment the public interest will not be thereby injured,
in the construction of roads, canals, or other works of public utility."
This resolution he supported in a few but very pungent remarks,
which, however, brought to his aid but fourteen votes; the resolu-
tion, on the question being taken on its passage, being negatived by
one hundred and two members voting against, and fifteen for it.
To the declaration of war itself he opposed all possible resistance.
On the 29th of May, 1S12, he offered a resolution, "That under
existing circumstances it is inexpedient to resort to war against
Great Britain." The remarks with which Mr. RANDOLPH prefaced
the introduction of this resolution led to an angry debate, principally
upon the various questions of order which arose out of the subject
matter of the remarks, produced difficulty between him and the
speaker, Mr. Clay, whose decision against him on the points of
order was sustained by the house. The prefatory remarks to which
we have alluded, involved the then existing state of the public rela-
tions of the United States with France and Great Britain, exhibiting
a strong leaning against the former, and which, after he had spoken
about an hour and a half, were decided to be out of order, because
a member was bound to submit his motion to the house previously
to debating so much at large. Mr. RANDOLPH chose to consider the
decision as an " invention for stifling debate ;" and he addressed, on
the 30th of May 1812, an appeal to his constituents, the freeholders
of Charlotte, Prince Edward, Buckingham, and Cumberland, which
we give as affording the best specimen of his peculiar views and
mode of reasoning, at the period of its publication.
To the Freeholders of Charlotte, Prince Edward, Buckingham, and Cumberland.
FELLOW CITIZENS. — I dedicate to you the following fragment That it appears in its
present mutilated shape, is to be ascribed to the successful usurpation which has reduced
the freedom of speech, in one branch of the American congress, to an empty name. It is
now established for the first time, and in the person of your representative, that the house
may, and will refuse to hear a member in his place, or even to receive a motion from him
upon the most momentous subject that can be presented for legislative decision. A similar
motion was brought forward by the republican minority in the year 1798,* before these
modern inventions for stifling freedom of debate were discovered. It was discussed as a
matter of right, until it was abandoned by the mover in consequence of additional informa-
* This motion was drawn, it is believed, by Mr. Gallatin, but moved by Mr. Sprigg, de-
claring it to be inexpedient at that time to resort to war against the French republic.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tion (the correspondence of our envoy at Paris) laid before congress by the president. In the
" reign of terror," the father of the sedition law had not the hardihood to proscribe the
liberty of speech, much less the right of free debate on the floor of congress. This invasion
of the public liberties was reserved for self-styled republicans, who hold your understandings
in such contempt, as to flatter themselves that you will overlook their every outrage upon
the great first principles of free government, in consideration of their professions of tender
regard for the privileges of the people.
It is for you to decide whether they have formed a just estimate of your character. You
do not require to be told that the violation of the rights of him whom you have deputed to
represent you is an invasion of the rights of every man of you, of every individual in society.
If this abuse be suffered to pass unredressed — and the people alone are competent to apply
the remedy — we must bid adieu to a free form of government for ever !
Having learned from various sources that a declaration of war would he attempted on
Monday next, with closed doors, I deemed it my duty to endeavor, by an exercise of my
constitutional functions, to arrest this heaviest of all possible calamities and avert it from
our happy country. I accordingly made the effort of which I now give you the result, and
of the success of which you will already have been informed before these pages can reach
you. I pretend only to give you the substance of my unfinished argument.
The glowing words — the language of the heart — have passed away with the occasion
that called them forth. They are no longer under my control. My design is simply to
submit to you the views which have induced me to consider a war with England, under
existing circumstances, as comporting neither with the INTEREST nor the HOXOH of the
American people, but as an idolatrous sacrifice nf both, on the altar of FUENCH RAPACITT,
PERFIDY, AND AMBITION !
France has for years past offered us terms of undefined commercial arrangement, as the
price of a war with England, which hitherto we have not wanted firmness and virtue to
reject. That price is now to be paid. We are tired of holding out, and following the ex-
ample of the nations of continental Europe ; entangled in the artifices, or awed by the
power of the destroyer of mankind, we are prepared to become instrumental to his projects
of universal dominion. Before these pages meet your eye, the last republic of the earth
will have enlisted under the banners of the tyrant, and become a party to his cause. The
blood of the American freemen must flow to cement his power, to aid in stifling the last
struggles of afflicted and persecuted man ; to deliver up into his hands the patriots of Spain
and Portugal, to establish his empire over the ocean and over the land that gave our fore-
fathers birth ; to forge our own chains ! And yet, my friends, we are told, as we were told
in the days of Mr. Adams, " the finger of Heaven points to war" Yes the finger of Heaven
DOES point to war. It points to war, as it points to the mansions of eternal misery and
torture ; as a flaming beacon warning us of that vortex which we may not approach but
with certain destruction. It points to desolated Europe, and warns us of the chastisement
of those nations who have offended against the justice and almost beyond the mercy of
Heaven. It announces the wrath to come upon those, who, ungrateful for the bounty of
Providence, not satisfied with the peace, liberty, security, and plenty at home, fly, as it
were, into the face of the Most High, and tempt his forbearance.
To you, in this place, I can speak with freedom, and it becomes me to do so: nor shall I
he deterred by the cavils and the sneers of those who hold as " foolishness" all that savors
not of worldly wisdom, from expressing fully and freely those sentiments which it has
pleased God, in his mercy, to engrave upon my heart.
These are no ordinary times. The state of the world is unexampled ; the war of the
present day is not like that of our Revolution, or any which preceded it, at least in modern
times. It is a war against the liberty and happiness of mankind. It is a war in which tlie
6
JOHN RANDOLPH.
whole human race are the victims, to gratify the pride and lust of power of a single indi-
vidual. I beseech you, put it to your own bosoms, how far it becomes you as freemen, as
Christians, to give your aid and sanction to this impious and bloody warfare against your
brethren of the human family. To such among you, if any such there be, who are insen-
sible to motives not more dignified and manly than they are intrinsically wise, I would
make a different appeal. I adjure you by the regard you have for your own security and
property, for the liberty and inheritance of your children, by all that you hold dear and
sacred, to interpose your constitutional powers to save your country and yourselves from
the calamity, the issue of which it is not given to human foresight to divine.
Ask yourselves if you are willing to become the virtual allies of Bonaparte 1 Are you
willing for the sake of annexing Canada to the northern states, to submit to that overgrow-
ing system of taxation, which sends the European labourer supperless to bed 1 To main-
tain by the sweat of your brow, armies at whose hands you are to receive a future master 1
Suppose Canada ours ; is there any one among you who would ever be, in any respect,
the better for it 1 the richer — the freer — the happier — the more secure 1 And is it for a boon
like this, that you would join in the warfare against the liberties of man in the other hemi-
sphere, and put your own in jeopardy 1 Or is it for the nominal privilege of a licensed
trade with France, that you would abandon your lucrative commerce with Great Britain,
Spain, and Portugal, and their Asiatic, African, and American dependencies 1 In a word,
with every region of those vast continents. That commerce which gives vent to your
tobacco, grain, flour, cotton, in short, to all your native products, which are denied a mar-
ket in France !
There are not wanting men so weak as to suppose that their approbation of warlike
measures is a proof of personal gallantry, and that opposition to them indicates a want of
that spirit which becomes a friend to his country ; as if it required more courage and pa-
triotism to join in the acclamation of the day, than steadily to oppose one's self to the mad
infatuation to which every people and all governments have, at some time or other, given
way. Let the history of Phocion, of Agis, and of the De Witts, answer this question.
My friends, do you expect to find those who are now loudest in the clamor for war, fore-
most in the ranks of battle ] Or is the honor of this nation indissolubly connected with
the political reputation of a few individuals who tell you they have gone too far to recede,
and that you must pay, with your ruin, the price of their consistency ? My friends, I
have discharged my duty towards you ; lamely and inadequate I know, but to the best of
my poor ability. The destiny of the American people is in their own hands. The net
is spread for their destruction. You are enveloped in the toils of French duplicity ; and
if, which may Heaven in its mercy forbid, you and your posterity are to become hewers of
wood and drawers of water, to the modern Pharaoh, it shall not be for the want of my
best exertions to rescue you from the cruel and abject bondage. This sin, at least, shall
not rest upon my soul.
JOHN RANDOLPH of Roanoke.
May 30th, 1812.
This appeal drew, on the 17th of June, 1812, from Mr. Clay, then
speaker of the house of representatives, an answer addressed to the
editor of the National Intelligencer,* the insertion of which is not
* Niks' Weekly Register, vol. ii, p. 266.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
within the views or limits of this sketch, but which, though nearly
twenty years have diminished the interest of the occurrence to which
it relates, may still be read with pleasure and advantage.
The health of Mr. RANDOLPH was seriously affected in the year
1S1 1 ; and he seems never to have recovered entirely from the effects
of the attack which he then experienced ; his life, subsequently,
seems to have been " one long disease."* The idea of a restoration
from change of air and scene, induced him to visit England in 1822.
Of England, Ireland, and Scotland, he possessed, previously to having
been there, the most minute and accurate local knowledge, derived,
as he himself asserted, from books and conversation aided by a very
retentive memory, and he sometimes amused himself not a little at
the surprise it created. The attention he attracted upon his first
appearance in London was very great, and many characteristic
anecdotes of him reached this country. He went again to England
in the spring of 1824, with the same hope of improving his health
which led to his former voyage, and returned to the United States
in the autumn of the same year. Disease, however, had taken such
firm hold of him, that his subsequent public life received constant
interruptions from its visitations.
In June, 1830, Mr. RANDOLPH was appointed, by president Jack-
son, minister to Russia upon the recall of Mr. Middleton. He sailed
shortly after his appointment, and arrived in London in July, from
whence he reached St. Petersburg in September following. His
stay in Russia was very short ; the severity of the climate was ill
adapted to the state of extreme infirmity under which he was suf-
fering, and he returned to London, where, on the 26th of December,
1830, he delivered a speech at the lord mayor's dinner. Many
rumors of the extraordinary conduct and behavior of the minister
of the United States at the court of St. Petersburg reached this
country soon after Mr. RANDOLPH'S arrival in Russia, were made
public, and were seized upon with that avidity which affords such
stringent proof of the predominance in human nature to enjoy
whatever renders our neighbor less in general estimation. Mr. John
Randolph Clay, the son of his old friend, who accompanied him as
secretary of legation, deemed it right to repel the attacks which
were made upon the strength of these rumors, by the publication
of a letter, dated at St. Petersburg on the 17th of January, 1831, in
* Letters to Dudley, passim,
s
JOHN RANDOLPH.
which he asserted, distinctly, that the statements which had been
given to the public on the subject of Mr. RANDOLPH'S behavior and
conduct, had no foundation in truth. The appointment of Mr.
RANDOLPH called forth innumerable attacks upon the president, and
upon himself; the most vehement of which were founded upon the
allegation that he received the outfit, when he knew he could not
discharge the duty of a minister; and an imposing parade of figures
was made* upon the subject of the cost to the country of his mis-
sion. He returned to America in October, 1831, in a state of extreme
exhaustion and weakness.
The tariff or "American system," as it has been sometimes
termed, met with the most distinct opposition from Mr. RANDOLPH.
He seems to have held the doctrine, that the manufacturing interests
were never, in any country, satisfied with the extent of the legisla-
tive protection granted to them ; and he insisted that the tariff system
was one which must end in the utter subversion of the rights of the
states generally, and that it would be impossible for the slave-hold-
ing states to submit long to its oppression. His views are set forth
in a letter dated November 22d, 1832, which he addressed to a
writer in the Richmond Enquirer under the signature of a " Friend
to Truth."
On the 20th of May, 1833, Mr. RANDOLPH arrived in Philadelphia,
on his way to New York, where he intended to embark for Europe,
again to try the effect of a voyage. He was in the last stage of a
pulmonary disease; and, after lingering three days, he died at the
City Hotel in Third street.
Few individuals of modern times have attracted more notice in
their own country than JOHN RANDOLPH; but it may be long before
his true history and character will be portrayed; before the division
of his life into periods shall furnish the materials even for a proper
estimate of his views, feelings, and powers. It is conceded that
among the orators of his own land, he was a star of the first magni-
tude, but that his aberrations rendered his lustre worse than useless.
He drew an attentive audience together in congress more certainly
than any other speaker ; his sayings, in which the manner and oc-
casion was often more than the matter, were in every man's mouth,
and his fame extended throughout the union. But it has been said,
* Niles' Weekly Register, September 24th, 1831, p. 69, where the amount is stated at
107,000 dollars.
9
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
that, while this was the case, he was brilliant, and nothing more;
that he wanted sound, efficient sense, and useful knowledge, and
was thus deficient in the most essential qualifications for the station
he held in the councils of his country; that, like Cassandra, he was
listened to, but never heeded; and was a living example that talent
without wisdom leads to nothing. That with all the fame acquired
by his eloquence, he was without any real influence, and that while
assemblages were gathered together whenever he delivered one of
his brilliant harangues, no man set the smallest value upon his
opinion. It has been peremptorily denied that he was a statesman;
though his career has exhibited him always in the front rank of
whatever party he chose to ally himself to, his efforts have been
deemed as injurious to his political friends as to their adversaries;
and that his whole life was an exhibition of the futility of a mere
man of genius, whose career was signalized by words, but left no
deeds or great public acts to perpetuate his memory. Let us hope,
however, that one day some one from among those who knew him
best, may give us the truth in regard to one of the most remarkable
of men, whose race was run, and whose voice was loudest in the
council of the nation during some of the most difficult periods of
existence ; it seems almost impossible that such great and general
interest and curiosity should have been excited by a mere talker,
and that after a long and active life devoted almost exclusively to
public affairs, he should have been gathered to his fathers having
achieved nothing.
10
MAJOR GENERAL
EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES, the third son of James Gaines, was
born on the 20th of March, 1777, near the eastern base of the blue
ridge, in the county of Culpepper, Virginia. His father was married
while very young to Miss White, who died a year after the mar-
riage, leaving one daughter. He afterwards married Elizabeth
Strother, by whom he had four daughters and two sons elder, and
three daughters and one son younger than EDMUND. His father
served in the latter part of the revolutionary war at the head of a
company of volunteers; and was soon after chosen a member of
the legislature of North Carolina, to the northwest border of which
state he had moved with his family at the close of the war. He
was afterwards elected a member of the convention of that state to
which the federal constitution was submitted, and by which it was
rejected. If upon the final vote of rejection the name of James
Gaines stands recorded in favor of that measure, his objections were
entirely removed by the adoption of the "Bill of Rights;" and he
lived to see its excellence demonstrated by a trial of forty-two years
duration. He witnessed the progress and issue of this trial with a
steadfast belief that the federal constitution, so amended, and taken
in connexion with the constitution of the several states of the union,
embraced the most perfect, as well as the most powerful, system of
government known to man. James Gaines was the nephew of
Edmund Pendleton, a profound lawyer, and for many years the
presiding judge of the court of appeals of the state of Virginia, and
a statesman whose services were most prominent in the cause
which produced a Washington, and has enrolled the names of
Henry, Jefferson, Madison, Randolph, Lee, and Mason, among the
most distinguished in the annals of American history.
To an early association with such an individual, and to the affec-
tionate solicitude and guardian care of a highly gifted mother, are
to be imputed the stern integrity and devoted sense of duty which
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
have always distinguished the subject of this memoir. Upon the
memory of his mother his heart still rests with an abiding love, and
to her care and prudence he yet delights to acknowledge himself
mainly indebted for the principles which have sustained and
strengthened him amid the trying and perilous scenes of his event-
ful life.
Born in a frontier settlement, and during a state of civil war, his
earliest recollections are painfully connected with deeds of blood
and rapine. A main object of maternal care was manifested in an
anxious zeal to merge the baleful influences in a recital of the
triumphs of her countrymen in the great cause of civil liberty, and
of the brilliant consequences that were to flow to her children and
posterity from such pressing and impending calamities. It is not,
therefore, to be wondered at that the subsequent career of her
favorite son should be devoted to the profession of arms ; and less,
that that career should be distinguished not more on the field of
battle, than by a loyal devotion to the constitution and the laws of
his country, both as a soldier and a private citizen.
At the close of the war of independence, his father's estate con-
sisted of a plantation of a few hundred acres, and that but indiffer-
ently stocked : of money, like the rest of his neighbors, he had
none, except in the form of the old valueless continental bills.
Under these circumstances of poverty, in which all classes were
at the time more or less involved, it will not be matter of surprise
that the early education of our hero should be limited to the acquire-
ment of such attainments as he could occasionally find time to re-
ceive at the neighboring county school.
The greater portion of his youth was necessarily devoted to labor.
His daily toils were, however, amply compensated by the reflection
that the burden of the farm was lessened to the advancing years of
his father, and that the declining days of his mother were comforted
and consoled by every act of filial duty.
In the subsequent toils of his professional career, he has more
than once had reason to congratulate himself on the habits acquired
in following the plough and in wielding the axe. His heart was
early imbued with the pleasures which result from the performance
of duties, and his body hardened by healthful and vigorous exercise.
To an early friend, whom he often delights to name, one Ralph
Mitchell, he was indebted for the attainment of so much of the ele-
ments of the mathematics as to become an accurate surveyor.
EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
He had now attained his thirteenth year.
About this time his father removed his family to Sullivan county,
which afterwards became the eastern county of Tennessee. His
new residence brought him into the immediate vicinity of the de-
predations so frequently committed at that time by the Cherokee
and Creek Indians, with whom we were at war, and so continued
to be for several years after his father's removal to Tennessee.
Our hero's thoughts became now actually turned to the profession
of arms, and he employed all his leisure hours in the perusal of
books of history and such military works as chance or his father's
early associates afforded him. At the age of fourteen his rifle be-
came his constant companion, and in his wilderness or mountain
excursions, he soon acquired such skill in the management of this
formidable arm, as to excel most of his young associates who vied
with him in the use of it.
When about eighteen years of age, he was elected lieutenant of a
rifle company of volunteers, commanded by captain J. Cloud. In
the twenty-first year of his age, he commenced, as far as the most
limited means would permit him, the study of the law. About this
time he was recommended by his distinguished friend, the Honor-
able W. C. C. Claiborne, then in congress, for an appointment in
the army, and on the 10th of January, 1799, he was appointed an
ensign.
In the fall of 1799, he received notice that he was attached to the
sixth United States regiment, and was ordered on duty in the re-
cruiting service, having been, in the interim, promoted to a second
lieutenancy. In the following year the sixth regiment was dis-
banded. Lieutenant Gaines was soon after attached to the fourth,
then commanded by Colonel Thomas Butler.
In the summer of 1801, the colonel was instructed to select the
subaltern of his regiment best qualified for making a topographical
survey from Nashville to Natchez, for the location of a military
road. He appointed Lieutenant GAINES. In the performance of
this duty, and in the survey of some Indian boundary lines near the
Choctaw nation, he was engaged until the winter of 1S03 — 4.
In the year 1804, when it was found that Spain had refused to
withdraw her troops from the military posts of Mobile and Baton
Rouge, and to deliver up the country lying-between the island of
Orleans, the Iberville, the river Mississippi, and the Perdido, as a
part of Louisiana, the president of the United States, not considering
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the country prepared for war, determined to appoint a military col-
lector of the customs for the district of Mobile. For this oirice,
GAINES, who had in 1802 been promoted to a first lieutenancy, was
selected. He accepted the office in the confident expectation that
nis position at Fort Stoddert, thirty -six miles north of the town of
Mobile, where he was stationed, would insure to him, sooner or
later, the honor of taking possession of the disputed territory.
In the year 1806, our military collector of the customs, in addition
to the duties hitherto assigned to him, was honored with the ap-
pointment of postmaster, and that of agent to the postmaster-general,
with authority to suspend certain postmasters and mail contractors,
whose delinquencies were in anywise attributable to the influence
of persons then known to be engaged in what was termed the Burr
war. As commandant of Fort Stoddert, GAINES was authorized to
employ such of the United States troops as he should deem neces-
sary and proper to afford protection to the persons employed as
inspectors of the revenue, as well as those employed in carrying
the mail between the city of New Orleans and Athens, Georgia ;
the principal part of the intervening country, near six hundred
miles, being at that time a wilderness.
While in the discharge of the various and complicated duties of
the civil and military trusts confided to him, it became his duty, in
obedience to the proclamation of the president, to arrest Colonel
Burr, and to send him under a mounted guard, in charge of Major
Nicholas Perkins, who volunteered his services for that purpose, to
Virginia for trial. Of the propriety of this act Captain GAINES
never for a moment entertained a doubt.
It is a fact, however, not to be concealed, that, notwithstanding
the arrest and confinement of Colonel Burr was a duty, and a duty
performed in a spirit of as great delicacy and forbearance as was
consistent with the perfect security of his person ; and notwithstand-
ing he was confided to the care of Major Perkins, than whom a more
humane, honorable man could not have been found ; yet from the
time of his arrival in Richmond to the present year, GAINES has
found arrayed against him an influence which he has in vain en-
deavoured to account for.
The president, on being advised through the department of war
that Burr had been arrested by Captain GAINES, authorized the ap-
pointment of marshal to be added to his various other civil appoint-
ments, with authority to notify his veteran commander, General
EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
Wilkinson, with such other public officers and others at New Or-
leans acquainted with the projects of Burr, to attend his trial. With
these officers the acting marshal embarked in a United States vessel
of war in May, 1807, at New Orleans, and arrived at Old Point
Comfort early in June, a few days previous to the attack on the
frigate Chesapeake.
In the course of this trial, which immediately followed, Captain
GAINES had reason to put in practice the principles of forbearance
which he had early prescribed to himself. The counsel of Burr
deemed it expedient to animadvert with much harshness, not only
on the arrest of his client, but likewise on the conduct of the officer
who made the arrest. The captain, satisfied with the good and
faithful service he had rendered his country, was neither moved by
these animadversions, nor for a moment thrown off the manly pro-
priety of his deportment.
History will not hesitate to say, that whatever may have been
the designs of Colonel Burr, they were at once frustrated by his
prompt arrest and speedy conveyance to a proper place of trial. To
Captain GAINES she will award the full merit of this act.
Our hero had now attained the thirtieth year of his age ; he had
thus far laboured through what may be considered the apprentice-
ship of his profession ; he had acquired full confidence in his capa-
bility to serve his country in either a civil or a military capacity, and
believed himself equal to any command in the army the government
might see fit to confide to him.
Shortly after the trial of Colonel Burr, he determined to retire
from the army, and engage in the profession of the law. The exe-
cution of this resolution was, however, for a while suspended, in
consequence of the increased probability of a war with England.
The chances of this event were soon, however, rendered nearly
hopeless by the turn of public affairs. In this state of suspense,
GAINES at length decided upon asking for a leave of absence.
This was promptly granted to him by his commanding general,
Wade Hampton, with the understanding that if the prospect of war
should subside within a year, he should be permitted to resign ;
otherwise, that he would remain in service. In this interval he
commenced the practice of the law in the counties of Washington
and Baldwin, Mississippi territory.
Scarcely had he completed his second circuit, under auspices of
the most nattering character, when the alternative under which he
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
stood pledged to his general, occurred. The nation determined to
maintain her rights. War was declared against Great Britain, and
Captain GAINES joyf Lilly resumed his sword, with a firm determina-
tion never again to abandon it so long as his country should need
his services.
In the war which followed, he soon became distinguished among
the most steadfast in the faithful performance of every arduous duty.
The post of greatest danger was to him the post of honor. There
he was always to be found, distinguished alike by the fertility of
his resources, the imperturbable coolness of his courage, and the
amiable simplicity of his manners. The details of his services are
too voluminous for the limited space allowed in this memoir.
It must suffice to state, that after being on duty in the north-
western division of the army, he was, subsequently to the battle of
the Thames in Upper Canada, engaged in the operations on the
northern frontier; where on various occasions his conduct as an
officer received the highest commendation. In the action at Chryst-
Icr's Field, he was particularly distinguished; and at the memorable
and brilliant defence of Fort Erie, in August, IS 14, (at which post
he commanded in chief, and was severely wounded by the bursting
of a shell,) his bravery and skill were most conspicuous ; nor was
he ever wanting in magnanimity or humanity.
In the midst of the sanguinary conflicts in which he was then
engaged, his conduct as a soldier won the admiration even of the
enemy to whom he was opposed, and against whom he was then
in arms on the field of battle. And it is so seldom the horrors of
war are relieved by incidents which indicate the triumph of civili-
zation and refinement in the character of the warrior, amidst the
iron storm where courage is too often almost the only virtue recog-
nised, that an occurrence so honorable to both the belligerent parties
as the following, ought not to be forgotten.
At the battle of Chrystler's Field, before mentioned, which took
place on the llth of November, 1813, Colonel GAINES, but just re-
covered from the tedious illness which had deprived him of the
honor of a participation in the glory of Harrison's victory on the
Thames, commanded the twenty-fifth regiment of United States
infantry.
That regiment was one of the most effective in the service. The
important duty was that day assigned to it of covering the retreat
of our several corps after the check which the enemy had received,
to the place of reembarcation on the St. Lawrence.
EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
The duty was a most important and arduous one. The officer
who commanded the British force was Colonel Morrison, of the
eighty-ninth, than whom His Majesty had not a more distinguished
soldier or accomplished gentleman in his service.
Flushed with the advantages he had gained in the capture of a
piece of our artillery, and in the death of General Covington, who
had fallen at the head of his regiment, in a charge against the British
line, Morrison pushed his regiment hard upon his retiring foe, until
he encountered the gallant twenty-fifth. Here all his efforts failed.
The twenty-fifth held firm foot in spite of repeated assaults, and
manifested a degree of fortitude and discipline which astonished the
veterans who had followed Wellington over so many fields of
triumph. Under its gallant commander, GAINES, it remained as
immovable as a rock.
The enemy finally repulsed, and our own corps again on their
line of march to join the advance, the twenty-fifth slowly retired from
the field, having by its brilliant deportment gained for us all the
advantages which could have sprung from the most decided victory.
Colonel Morrison himself was so much pleased with the conduct of
the regiment, that after the battle he sent his card, with his compli-
ments, to the officer who commanded it, expressing the warmest
admiration of his courage and conduct, and desiring to be made
acquainted with his name, that in case it should be hereafter his
good fortune to meet the gentleman under more peaceful circum-
stances, he might at once claim the privileges of an old soldier and
friend. It is needless to say, that a message so chivalric and mag-
nanimous could not have been addressed to a heart more ready to
respond, or prompt to reciprocate the exalted courtesy it evinced,
than that of Colonel GAINES.
In the course of the war, GAINES received the several successive,
rapid promotions, of lieutenant-colonel, colonel, adjutant-general,
brigadier-general, and major-general ; the last being the highest
rank authorized by law, and conferred in a form the most accept-
able to the soldier, inasmuch as it was " a war brevet" expressly
stating the fact that it was conferred on him in consequence of his
gallant and meritorious conduct in battle. The federal govern-
ment also honored him and the officers and men of his command,
with a unanimous vote of thanks, and authorized the president to
provide and present to him a gold medal, whilst the three great and
patriotic states of New York, Virginia, and Tennessee, awarded to
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
him unanimous resolutions of thanks, Avith a fine gold-hilted sword
which he received from each of these states.
With the more recent actions and public services of General
GAINES, we deem it unnecessary to dilate this sketch ; he is still
(183S) actively employed in the honorable and important trust
which his country has confided to his hands ; and his latest official
communications to the government, display a highly intelligent and
urn-emitted zeal for her welfare.
THENEWYORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
- -.-,9i
r- v A. B- Our
> 3. ,
JOHN QU1NCY ADAMS.
IN giving a sketch of the career of JOHN QJJINCY ADAMS, the limits
of this work require us to confine the narrative to a bare recital of the
successive leading events of his life. It is difficult to contemplate his
history, without yielding to the impulses of the feelings and the ima-
gination, and expatiating on the interesting reflections and meditations
which, at every stage of his course, crowd into the mind, and demand
expression. So protracted, however, has been his public life, so full is it
of important services, and so various are the stations in which his great
talents have been displayed, that the concisest narration of them will be
kept, with difficulty, from overrunning our pages. His illustrious parents
have been duly commemorated in this work ; and it will therefore be un-
necessary to dwell upon their merits, or even to mention their names.
He was born in Braintree, in Massachusetts, in that part of the town
since incorporated by the name of Quincy, on Saturday, July 11, 1767,
and was baptised the next day, in the congregational church of the
first Parish of Braintree. He was named John Quincy, in conse-
quence of the interesting circumstance that his maternal great-grand-
father of that name, who was the owner of Mount Wollaston, and a
leading civil and military character of his times, in honor of whom the
town of Quincy received its name, was actually dying at the time of
his birth .
In the eleventh year of his age he accompanied his father to France,
who was sent by Congress, as joint commissioner, with Benjamin Frank-
lin and Arthur Lee, to the court of Versailles. They sailed from
Boston in February, 1778, and arrived at Bourdeaux early in April.
While in France, he was, of course, put to school, and instructed in the
language of the country as well as in the Latin. After about eighteen
months, they returned to America in the French frigate La Sensible, in
company with the Chevalier de la Luzerne, who came out as the minis-
ter of France to the United States. They arrived in Boston on the first
of August, 1779. In November of the same year his father was again
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
despatched to Europe, for the discharge of the diplomatic services,
which lie rendered to the cause of America with such signal and me-
O
morable ability and success. He took his son out with him. It seemed to
be the determination of that great patriot, not only to do and to dare
every thing himself for his struggling country, but to keep his son con-
tinually at his side ; so that, by sharing his perils and witnessing his
toils, he might become imbued with his own exalted enthusiasm in the
cause of liberty, and be prepared to promote and vindicate it with all
the energies of his genius and all the sensibility of his soul. It is
easy to imagine the exciting influences which must have operated
upon the character of a youth at that susceptible and impressible age,
accompanying such a father through the scenes in which he acted
while in Europe, and the dangers he encountered in his voyages across
the Atlantic. In one of these voyages, the ship in which they were
embarked was under the command of the famous naval hero Commo-
dore Tucker, and the whole passage was a succession of hazardous expo-
sures and hair-breadth escapes from hostile squadrons and tempes-
tuous gales.
While the younger Adams was receiving the impressions made
upon him by a participation in the patriotic adventures and exer-
tions of his father, and imbibing the wisdom and intrepid energy of
spirit for which he was so distinguished, the same effect was still more
heightened and deepened by the influence exerted upon him by the
inculcations and exhortations to every public and private virtue con-
tained in the letters of his mother. When he was thirteen years of
age, while in France with his father, she addressed him in the follow-
ing noble strains : — " It is your lot, my son, to owe your existence
among a people who have made a glorious defence of their invaded
liberties, and who, aided by a generous and powerful ally, with the
blessing of heaven, will transmit this inheritance to ages yet unborn ;
nor ought it to be one of the least of your excitements towards exert-
ing every power and faculty of your mind, that you have a parent
who has taken so large a share in this contest, and discharged the
trust reposed in him with so much satisfaction as to be honored
with the important embassy that at present calls him abroad. The
strict and inviolate regard you have ever paid to truth, gives me pleas-
ing hopes that you will not swerve from her dictates ; but add justice,
fortitude, and every manly virtue which can adorn a good citizen, do
honor to your country, and render your parents supremely happy,
particularly your ever affectionate mother."
The opportunities and privileges of an education, under such au-
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
spices, were not thrown away upon him, as the incidents of his subse-
quent career most amply prove.
In going to Europe this second time, he embarked with his father
at Boston, in the same French frigate, La Sensible, bound to Brest ; but
as the ship sprung a leak in a gale of wind, it was necessary to make
the first port they could, which was Ferrol in Spain. They travelled
from that place to Paris by land, and arrived there in January, 1780.
The son, of course, was immediately put to school. In July of that
year, Mr. Adams removed to Holland. There his son was first placed
in the public city school at Amsterdam, and afterwards at the Univer-
sity at Leyden. In. July, 1781, Mr. Francis Dane, who had accompanied
John Adams as Secretary of the embassy with which he was charged,
received the commission of minister plenipotentiary to the Empress of
Russia, and took JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, then fourteen years of age,
with him as his private Secretary. Here the younger Adams remained
until October 1782, when he left Mr. Dane at St. Petersburg, and
returned through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg, and Bremen, to Hol-
land. Upon this journey he employed the whole winter, spending
considerable time by the way, in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Ham-
burg. He reached the Hague in April, 1783, and continued several
months in Holland, until his father took him to Paris, where he was
at the signing of the treaty of peace, which took place in September
of that year, and from that time to May, 1785, he was, for the most
part, with his father in England, Holland, and France.
At his own solicitations, his father permitted him, when eighteen
years of age, to return to his native country. Soon after reaching
America, he entered Harvard University, at an advanced standing, and
was graduated with distinguished honor, as Bachelor of Arts, in 1787.
He then entered the office of the celebrated Theophilus Parsons, at New-
bury Port, afterwards chief justice of Massachusetts ; and after the
usual period of three years spent in the study of the law, he entered
the profession, and established himself in Boston.
He remained in that situation four years, occupying himself indus-
triously in his office, extending his acquaintance with the great princi-
ples of law, and also taking part in the public questions which then
occupied the attention of his countrymen. In the summer of 1791
he published a series of papers in the Boston Centinel, under the signa-
ture of Publicola, containing remarks upon the first part of Paine's
Rights of Man. They suggested doubts in reference to the favorable
issue of the French Revolution, at a time when most other men saw
nothing but good in that awakening event. The issue proved the sa-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
gacity of Publicola. These pieces were at first ascribed to his father.
They were reprinted in England.
In April, 1793, on the first information of war between Great
Britain and France, and before Washington had published his procla-
mation of neutrality, or it was known that such a step was contemplat-
ed by him, Mr. ADAMS published in the Boston Centinel three articles
signed Marcellus, the object of which was to prove that the duty and
interest of the United States required them to remain neutral in that
war. In these papers he developed the two principles, which have
ever been the basis of his creed as a statesman ; the one is UNION at
home, the other INDEPENDENCE of all entangling alliances with any
foreign states whatever.
In the winter of 1793-4 he published another series of political es-
says, confirming, and more fully developing these views, and vindicat-
ing the course of President Washington in reference to the proceed-
ings of the French minister, Genet.
In May, 1794, he was appointed by Washington, without any inti-
mation of such a design, made either to him or to his father, minister
resident to the United Netherlands. It was supposed at the time that
he was selected in consequence of his having been commended to
the favorable notice of Washington, as a suitable person for . such an
employment, by Mr. Jefferson.
From 1794 to 1801 he was in Europe, employed in diplomatic
business, and as a public minister, in Holland, England, and Prussia.
Just as President Washington was retiring from office, he appointed
him minister plenipotentiary to the court of Portugal. While on his
way to Lisbon, he received a new commission, changing his des-
tination to Berlin. He resided in Berlin from November 1797 to April
1801, and while there concluded a highly important treaty of com-
merce with Prussia, thus accomplishing the object of his mission. He
was then recalled, just before the close of his father's administration,
and arrived in Philadelphia in September, 1801.
In 1802 he was elected, from the Boston district, a member of the
Massachusetts Senate, and was soon after appointed, by the legislature
of that state, a senator in the Congress of the United States for six
years, from the 4th of March, 1803. As his views of public duty led
him to adopt a course which he had reason to believe was disagreeable
to the legislature of the State he represented, he resigned his seat in
March, 1808. In March, 1809, President Madison nominated him
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of
Russia.
JOHN aUINCY ADAMS.
Some time previous to this, however, in 1806, he had been appointed
Professor of Rhetoric in Harvard University, at Cambridge in Massa-
chusetts. So extraordinary were his powers of elocution, so fervid his
imaginative faculties, and so rich his resources of literature and Ian-
o *
guage, that his lectures, which were afterwards published in two oc-
tavo volumes, were thronged not only by the students of the univer-
sity, but by large numbers of the admirers of eloquence and genius,
who came from Boston and the neighboring towns to listen to them.
During his whole life Mr. ADAMS has cultivated the graces of elocu-
tion, and, in addition to his profound and varied knowledge of the
sciences, of the ancient and modern languages, and of the literature and
history of all nations, is an eminent Orator as well as Poet.
While in Russia, he furnished to the Port Folio, printed in Phila-
delphia, and to which, from the beginning to the end, he was an
industrious anonymous contributor, a series of letters, entitled a
" Journal of a Tour through Silesia." These letters were republished
in London, without the permission of the proprietor of the Port Folio,
in one volume octavo. They were reviewed in the journals of the
day, and translated into French and German.
Mr. ADAMS signalized himself while in Russia by an energetic,
faithful, and wise discharge of the trust committed to him. He suc-
ceeded in making such an impression upon that government, by his
reasonings and influence, that it has ever since been actuated by a feel-
ing of kindness towards the United States, which has been of incalcula-
ble benefit to this country. It was through his instrumentality that the
Russian Court was induced to take active measures to promote a paci-
fication between England and the United States during the last war.
When the proper time came, he was named at the head of the five
commissioners who were appointed by President Madison to negotiate
a treaty of peace with Great Britain. This celebrated diplomatic trans-
action took place at Ghent, in December, 1814. Mr. Adams then
proceeded, in conjunction with Henry Clay and Albert Gallatin, who
had also been associated with him in concluding the treaty of peace,
to negotiate a convention of commerce with Great Britain ; and he was
forthwith appointed by President Madison minister plenipotentiary at
the Court of St. James.
It is a most remarkable coincidence that, as his father took the lead-
ing part in negotiating the treaty that terminated the Revolutionary
war with Great Britain, and first discharged the office of American
ambassador to London, so he was at the head of the commission that
negotiated the treaty that brought the second war with Great Britain
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
to a close, and sustained the first mission to that country upon the
return of peace. After having occupied that post until the close of
President Madison's administration, he was at length called home, in
1817, to the head of the department of State, at the formation of the
cabinet of President Monroe.
Mr. ADAMS'S career as a foreign minister terminated at this point.
It has never heen paralleled, or at all approached, either in the length
of time it covered, the number of courts at which he represented his
country, or the variety and importance of the services he rendered.
His first appointment to the office of a minister plenipotentiary was
received at the hands of George Washington, who, in nominating him,
acted in accordance with the suggestion of Thomas Jefferson. James
Madison employed him in the weightiest and most responsible trusts
during his whole administration, selected him to represent the United
States at the two most powerful courts in the world, St. Petersburg
and London, and committed to his leading agency the momentous duty
of arranging a treaty of peace with Great Britain. It is enough to say,
that throughout this long and brilliant career of foreign public service,
he deserved, and received from his country, the encomium which
Washington pronounced upon him, when, in 1797, he declared him
" the most valuable public character we have abroad, and the ablest
of all our diplomatic corps."
The public approbation of Mr. Monroe's act in placing him at the
head of his cabinet, was well expressed by General Jackson, at the
time, when he said that he was " the fittest person for the office ; a
man who would stand by the country in the hour of danger." While
Secretary of State, an office which he held during the eight years of
President Monroe's administration, he discharged his duties in such a
manner as to increase the confidence of his countrymen in his ability
and patriotism. Under his influence, the claims on Spain were ad-
justed, Florida ceded to the Union, and the republics of South Ameri-
ca recognised. It will be the more appropriate duty of his future biogra-
pher to present a full view of the vast amount of labor which he ex-
pended, in the public service, while managing the department of state.
In the Presidential election, which took place in the fall of 1 824,
Mr. ADAMS was one of the candidates. No candidate received a ma-
jority of electoral votes. When, on the 9th of February, 1825, the
two houses of Congress met in convention, in the hall of the House
of Representatives, to open, and count, and declare the electoral votes,
it was found that Andrew Jackson had 99 votes, JOHN QUINCY
ADAMS, 84 votes, William H. Crawford, 41 votes, and Henry Clay
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
37 votes. According to the requirements of the constitution, the
Senate then withdrew, and the House remained to ballot for a Presi-
dent until a choice should be effected. They were to vote by States ;
the election was limited to the three candidates who had the highest
electoral votes, and the ballotting was to continue without adjournment
until some one of the three had received the votes of a majority of the
States. As Mr. ADAMS had received as many popular votes as Gene-
ral Jackson, the circumstance that the latter had obtained a large elec-
toral vote had not so much weight as it otherwise might have had ; and
when the ballotting was about to begin, it was wholly uncertain which
would be the successful candidate. The whole number of States was
twenty-four. The votes of thirteen States were necessary for a choice.
At the first ballot, it was found that Maine, Neiv Hampshire, Massa-
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New- York, Maryland,
Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana, thirteen states,
had voted for " JOHN Q,UINCY ADAMS, OF MASSACHUSETTS ;" and
he was accordingly elected PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
for four years from the 4th of March, 1825. A committee was ap-
pointed forthwith to inform him of his election, who. the next day,
reported the following letter in reply to the communication :
" GENTLEMEN,
" In receiving this testimonial from the Representatives of the people,
and states of this Union, I am deeply sensible to the circumstances un-
der which it has been given. All my predecessors in the high station,
to which the favor of the House now calls me, have been honored with
majorities of the electoral voices in their primary colleges. It has
been my fortune to be placed, by the divisions of sentiment prevailing
among our countrymen on this occasion, in competition, friendly and
honorable, with three of my fellow-citizens, all justly enjoying, in emi-
nent degrees, the public favor : and of whose worth, talents, and ser-
vices, no one entertains a higher and more respectful sense than my-
self. The names of two of them were, in the fulfilment of the provi-
sions of the constitution, presented to the selection of the House in
concurrence with my own ; names closely associated with the glory
of the nation, and one of them further recommended by a larger mi-
nority of the primary electoral suffrages than mine. In this state of
things, could my refusal to accept the trust, thus delegated to me, give
an immediate opportunity to the people to form and to express, with
a nearer approach to unanimity, the object of their preference, I should
not hesitate to decline the acceptance of this eminent charge, and to
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
submit the decision of this momentous question again to their determi-
nation. But the constitution itself has not so disposed of the contin-
gency which would arise in the event of my refusal ; I shall therefore
repair to the post assigned me by the call of my country, signified
through her constitutional organs ; oppressed with the magnitude of
the task before me, but cheered with the hope of that generous support
from my fellow-citizens, which, in the vicissitudes of a life devoted to
their service, has never failed to sustain me — confident in the trust,
that the wisdom of the Legislative Councils will guide and direct me
in the path of my official duty, and relying, above all, upon the super-
intending Providence of that Beins: ' in whose hand our breath is. and
o o /
whose are all our ways.'
" Gentlemen : I pray you to make acceptable to the House, the as-
surance of my profound gratitude for their confidence, and to accept
yourselves my thanks for the friendly terms in which you have com-
municated their decision.
" JOHN Q.UJNCY ADAMS."
" Washington, IQth Feb. 1825."
The time is approaching when justice will be done to the adminis-
tration of JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. The passions of that day are al-
ready fast subsiding, and the parties and combinations that arose under
the exciting influences of the times, have long since been dissolved
and scattered. The clear verdict of posterity may almost be heard,
even now, in the general acknowledgment of its merits by the people
of the country, in all its various sections. In the relations he sustained
to the members of his cabinet, in his communications to the two houses,
and in all his proceedings, there is a uniform manifestation of wisdom,
industry, moderation, and devoted patriotism. Of course we do not
speak of party questions, or refer to the operations or bearings of the
parties of that period ; but say only what we conscientiously believe
will be assented to heartily by candid and honorable men of all par-
ties. The great effort of his administration was to mature, into a per-
manent system, the application of all the superfluous revenue of the
Union to internal improvement. This policy was first suggested in
a resolution introduced by him, and adopted by the Senate of the
United States in 1806 ; and was fully unfolded in his first message
to Congress in 1825. It will be the duty of the philosophical his-
torian of the country, a half century hence, to contrast the proba-
ble effects upon the general prosperity, which would have been produc-
ed by such a system of administration, regularly and comprehensively
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
carried out, during the intermediate time, by the government of the
Union, with what will then be seen to be the results of the policy which
has prevailed over it.
In retiring from the Presidency in 1 829, Mr. ADAMS returned to his
family mansion in Gluincy, where he remained, in quiet retirement, until
he was called into public life, once more, by the people of the congres-
sional district to which he belonged. He took his seat in the House of
O
Representatives of the United States in 1831, where he continues to this
day iii the most indefatigable discharge of the duties of his station.
Mr. Adams is now in his seventy-first year. However much some of
his opinions may be disliked by large numbers of his countrymen ;
however strenuous the collision into which he is, from time to time,
brought with those whose policy or views he may oppose ; there is but
one sentiment of admiration, throughout the entire Union, of the vigor,
the activity, the intrepidity, the patience and perseverance of labor,
the talent, the learning, and the eloquence which he continually ex-
hibits. He knows neither fear nor fatigue ; prompt, full, and fervid
in debate, he is ever at his post ; no subject arises upon which he does
not throw light, and few discussions occur which are not enli-
vened by the flashings of his genius and invigorated by the energy of
his spirit. While he belongs to no party, all parties in turn feel the
power of his talents ; and all, it is probable, recognize him as an ex-
tremely useful as well as interesting member of the great legislative
assembly of the nation.
He has now reached the period of life when most men begin, if
not to lose their power to engage in the arduous struggles of life, at
least to lose their interest in them. But it is not so with him. Neither
his natural force nor his natural fervor has abated. His speeches and
writings are still as full of fancy and of feeling as they were in his
early manhood. As a scholar, his attainments are various, we might
almost say universal, and profound. As a political controversial wri-
ter, he never yet has found his equal ; and his services as a public
orator are still called for on great occasions, when he comes forward in
all the strength of his intellectual energy, and with the imperishable
richness and inexhaustible abundance of his rhetorical stores. When
Congress were apprized of the death of General Lafayette, the unani-
mous voice of both Houses summoned him to the hi^Ii and memorable
o
duty of pronouncing their grateful eulogium upon that friend of America
and champion of mankind. And at the call of the municipal authori-
ties of the city of Boston, he has pronounced funeral orations in com-
memoration of the departed worth of Presidents Monroe and Madison,
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
All his other attainments and merits are crowned by a Christian faith
and profession.
In addition to his services in her legislative halls, his country still
expects other invaluable benefactions from the genius and learning of
this remarkable man ; and is strong in the hope that, in obedience to
that profound and reverential regard which he has ever shown to the
calls of patriotic, philanthropic, and filial duty, he will not close his
long line of illustrious services, without making a noble contribution
to the History of United America, and of the great men who achieved
her independence. C. W. U.
n
JOHN W, F HAN CIS, M.D.
PROFESSIONAL life, especially in young republican America, is often
diversified ; but the physician's is, perhaps, less frequently so than that
of any of the members of the three liberal pursuits to which academic
honors are awarded. Medical men, from the very nature of their stu-
dies, and the active cares in which they are involved in the subsequent
discharge of their responsible trusts, necessarily pass their existence
rather within the secluded chambers of the sick and afflicted, than be-
fore the gaze and immediate observation of the multitude. But, in de-
fiance of this restriction, the cultivators of the venerable art of healing
have been justly accounted among that class of individuals whose
daily vocations lead to a substantial acquaintance with human nature,
and the principles of human action ; while their peculiar energies are
ever directed to investigations, embracing a multitudinous variety of
circumstances by which sound science is increased, and the lasting in-
terests of society better secured. Knowledge, therefore, in the medical
profession, serves not only to dignify its rank, but in the exercise of its
powers becomes the agent of innumerable blessings to society ; and is
elevated equally by the importance of its ultimate object, and by those
qualifying attainments which render their possessor the efficient instru-
ment of its philanthropic designs.
There is, besides, in the history of physic, abundant evidence to show
how much the advancement of man has been furthered by the profess-
ors of the healing art ; how greatly the interests of humanity have
been promoted by their efforts ; how largely the charities of life, an
elevated literature and exalted science have been aided by the broad
foundations of public institutions, in which physicians have borne a pro-
minent part. The annals of Continental and of British medicine de*
monstrate this truth ; nor are examples wanting in our own country
of similar establishments, generously cherished by this order of men.
Hence, though the transactions of one day in the physician's career
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
seldom differ from those of another, the lives of eminent professors in
the medical faculty become worthy of notice ; they are the guardians
of the public health, and they deserve to rank among public charac-
ters ; and he, who possesses a deep and enthusiastic veneration for the
art, and while, in the daily exercise of its salutary precepts fosters, the
cause of learning and the general welfare of his species, merits, at our
hands, some recorded testimonial of his actions.
Among the many living examples in the United States of those in
that profession, who by their acquisitions adorn the science of physic ;
who, by the faithful and conscientious performance of its arduous du-
ties, have conferred benefits of acknowledged importance upon hu-
manity ; and by the publication of the results of experience have added
to the medical literature of their country, the respectable individual,
whose name is at the head of this biographical sketch, occupies a con-
spicuous place.
JOHN W. FRANCIS, M. D. was bom in the city of New- York on the
17th of November, 1789. His father, Melchior Francis, who came to
this country shortly after the peace of 1783, was a German from Nu-
remberg, well known in New- York as an enterprizing, upright grocer,
of an enthusiastic temperament, and of a liberal and charitable spirit,
whose career of usefulness was suddenly arrested by death from yellow
fever in 1795, in the 35th year of his age. His mother was a native
of Pennsylvania ; her family, of the name of Somer, were originally
from Bern, in Switzerland from whom there are numerous descendants
in this country, now residing in the above-named State. Her children
were mere infants when her husband died ; but she was left in cir-
cumstances sufficiently easy to give them a good education. JOHN,
the eldest, after receiving the common early instruction, was sent to a
school of no little reputation under the charge of the Reverend George
Strebeck, with whom he commenced the study of mathematics and
the Latin language, and afterward continued his classical pursuits
under the direction of the Reverend John Conroy, a profound scholar,
and a distinguished graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. By the aid
of this excellent teacher he was enabled to enter an advanced class in
Columbia College, where, in 1809, he received the degree of Bachelor,
and in 1812 that of Master of Arts.
While an under -graduate, the subject of this memoir, having resolved
to adopt the medical profession, devoted a portion of his time to its
studies ; he was enabled to accomplish this by a strong natural capa-
city, and by an ardor and perseverance which have marked his whole
course of life ; he had not only mental energy, but a vigorous con-
JOHN W. FRANCIS.
stitution, which sustained his intense application in the acquisition of
knowledge,
In 1807, then still an under-graduate as above-mentioned, he com-
menced his professional studies with the late Dr. David Hosack, the
able and eloquent teacher, at that time professor of Materia Medica and
Botany in Columbia College, and among those most entensively engag-
ed in the practice of physic in New- York. Under this eminent pre-
ceptor MR. FRANCIS had ample opportunities of witnessing the princi-
ples of the art illustrated by their practical application. During the
period of his professional studies for four collegiate years, he never ab-
sented himself from a single lecture, nor attended one without making
notes or abstracts on the subject taught by the lecturer. His clinical
knowledge was also much increased by a constant attendance at the
New- York Hospital, then enjoying the rich experience of Drs. Post,
Kissam, Stringham, and others ; and at the City Almshouse, an exten-
sive charity, the medical department of which was under the manage-
ment of Drs. Hosack and Macneven, the clinical instructors.
Several laws for the greater improvement of medical science were
enacted about this period by the Legislature of the State of New- York.
County Medical Societies had been formed the year before, and pro-
mised much advantage to the cause of professional learning. The Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons, under the authority of the Regents of
the University, was organized in 1807. From this institution, in 1811,
MR. FRANCIS received the degree of M. D. This was at the first com-
mencement of that school under the Presidency of Dr. Samuel Bard,
and the subject of this memoir was the first graduate who recorded
his name in the College Album. DR. FRANCIS'S inaugural thesis was
a dissertation on mercury, embracing its medical history, curative ac-
tion, and abuse in disease. His researches were extensive, while many
of his views were novel and profound, and have since been confirmed
by the philosophical inquiries of British and other foreign practitioners.
This production acquired for him great credit at once among his fel-
low graduates and the faculty generally ; it has been repeatedly noticed
by different writers in various languages, and maintains its reputation
at the present day.
DR. FRANCIS had been in practice a few months only, when his late
preceptor proposed to him a co-partnership in business. This propo-
sition, from the high standing of Dr. Hosack, was too flattering to be
declined. This connection lasted till 1820, since which time DR.
FRANCIS has continued in practice by himself.
From the first organization of the College of Physicians and Sur-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
geons, the professorial chairs were filled by men of acknowledged
learning and ability most of whom were much distinguised as teachers.
In the spring of 1813 DR. FRANCIS received from the trustees of
the institution the appointment of lecturer on the Institutes of Medi-
cine and Materia Medica. Shortly after this period, an union being
effected between the rival institutions, the medical faculty of Columbia
College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, he received from
the regents the professorship of Materia Medica. He delivered his first
public course of instruction to a class of one hundred and twenty stu-
dents, declining all compsnsation for his services, that the consolidation
of two schools of medicine, which had brought together so numerous a
body of professors, might not too much enhance the price of education
to those who wished to attend a full course of lectures. About this
time he published a historical account of the College, with a syllabus
or outline of the several courses of lectiu'os. The students of this new
school, upon its chartered establishment, ha4 formed themselves into a
medical society, similar to that at the University of Edinburgh, to im-
prove their minds by weekly discussions on medical and surgical sub-
jects. The President of the Society, which was termed the Medico-
Chirurgical Society, was chosen from the professors of the College ;
and for many years DR. FRANCIS was elected to preside over it, suc-
ceeding in this appointment the learned Dr. Mitchill.
Strongly impressed with the conviction that the city of New-Yosk,
possessed all the requisites for a great medical school, alive to the
importance of ctn extended system of medical education, and cheered
by the rising prospects of the institution to which he was attached,
DR, FRANCIS resolved to visit Europe, having in view, as well to
profit by the lessons of instruction afforded by the old world, as to
transfer, as far as lay within his power, what was valuable and prac-
ticable to the new. While in London he became a pupil of the illus-
trious Abernethy, and witnessed the practice of St. Bartholomew's
hospital ; attended the lectures of Brande at the Royal Institution, those
of Pearson at St. George's hospital, &c. Between Abernethy and
FRANCIS there sprung up so strong an attachment, that the former of-
fered the latter a share of his business, which at that time was oppres-
sively extensive.
According to a memoir to which this biographical sketch is much
indebted,* besides England, DR. FRANCIS visited Scotland, Ireland,
Holland, and France.
With eager curiosity he examined most that was rare and promi-
* New England Magazine, vol. 7th.
t
JOHN W. FRANCIS.
nent in these countries. His letters gave him access to scholars and
men of science wherever he travelled. In Edinburgh he shared the
hospitality of the great professors, and visited their schools so re-
nowned for practical wisdom. Here he listened to the eloquent and
classical lectures on medicine of Dr. James Gregory, and the able ex-
positions of Professor Jamieson on the Wernerian formations; and wit-
nessed the early experiments of the philosophic Brevvster, in his private
study, on the polarization of light. In Dublin he was received with
true Irish cordiality : and found in the anatomical preparations of Mc-
Cartney, specimens which rival even those of John Hunter. Regard-
ing his professional object as the most important one of his mission, he
was obliged to resist the strong impulse which prompted him to pass
beyond the Rhine ; and most reluctantly turned his back upon the
country, toward which, as the land of his fathers, he felt the dutiful
yearnings of a son; and for which, as the birth-place of Herder,
Schiller, and Goethe, he entertained the reverence of a scholar. In
Holland, the anatomical theatre where Ruysch once taught, and the
garden where Boerhaave once displayed the harmonies of the vege-
table kingdom, awakened to recollection the glories which have long
since departed. In France, with Denon, he viewed in his cabinet, and
in those institutions under his care, all that was magnificent in the
arts. Gall displayed to him the rich materials of his collections, on
which he founded his system of craniology ; while the " Jardin des
Plantes," under the direction of M. Thouin, gave him new ardor for
a knowledge of the wonders of creation. With Cuvier he examined
O
the objects more intimately connected with his own profession.
We are not wanting in proofs of the enthusiasm and success with
which the subject of this article prosecuted his European tour. It
was such as to excite the notice of many of his most enlightened fo-
reign acquaintances. One thus speaks : " I feel much gratified by the
opportunity you afforded me of making the acquaintance of DR. FRAN-
CIS. A mind more ardent in the pursuit of useful knowledge perhaps
never existed ; and I have no doubt he will, in a few years, stand at
the head of his profession. I introduced him to my son-in-law, Dr.
Yeates, who is an able and learned physician ; he entertains a high
opinion of your friend's talents, and I am sure will at all times be
happy in the opportunity of being useful to him."* DR. FRANCIS is
warm in his admiration of those lights of knowledge he everywhere
encountered in his travels ; but though enamoured with the learned
* Letter of the late Patrick Colquhoun, author of the Police of London, &c. Life of Eddy,
byS. L.Knapp.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
men he met in different countries, his political affections were wedded
to his own ; and in the midst of his European attachments, he was still
a republican in his principles.
On his return to New-York he found that some changes had been
made in the disposition of the professorships in the College ; the duties
of the chair of Materia Medica had been added to that of Chemis-
try. He was at once appointed by the Regents of the University pro-
fessor of the Institutes of Medicine. On the death of Dr. Stringham,
in 1817, the department of Medical Jurisprudence, heretofore taught
with applause by that gentleman, was assigned to DR. FRANCIS.
Another change took place in 1819, by resignation, by which DR.
FRANCIS became Professor of Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence.
This appointment he held until 1826, when he resigned, at the same
time with his colleagues, Drs. Hosack, Mott, Mcneven, and Mitchill ;
Dr. Post had given up the professorship of Anatomy a short time pre-
viously. The board of regents accepted the resignation of the faculty,
and presented them their thanks " for the faithful and able manner in
which they had filled their respective chairs as instructors and lectur-
ers in said College."
During the same year in which the resignation of the professors of
the College of Physicians and Surgeons occurred, a majority of them
founded and organized a new institution at their individual expense,
under the name of Rutgers' Medical College. In the place of Professor
Post, Anatomy and Physiology was assigned to the late distinguished
Dr. Godman, who, at the instance of Professor FRANCIS, left Philadel-
phia for a larger sphere of usefulness and profit. The success of this
new school for four terms was triumphant, at the end of which period
the legislative wisdom of the State thought proper to close the doors of
the College. It is believed that every friend and patron of sound prac-
tical medicine now admits that the interests of medical learning sus-
tained a severe loss by this measure.
In the Rutgers' Medical College DR. FRANCIS was chosen Profess-
or of Obstetrics and Forensic Medicine. In the number of pupils, his
classes were second only to those of Anatomy, which are always most
fully attended in every well-arranged medical institution. The close
relationship between many parts of the physiological portion of a
course of instruction on Obstetrics, with numerous topics discussed in
legal medicine, justified, on the part of the professor, repeated disquisi-
tions of the most interesting nature; and these, by an ample museum,
were made the more clear and satisfactory. In his third edition of the
work of Dr. Denman, a large amount of medico-legal facts and opi-
JOHN W. FRANCIS.
nions is introduced ; and in the same volume is embraced his history
of the Obstetric art, from the time of the ancients to that of the latest
writers on the subject, which has received the approbation both of the
erudite and the practical. The number of students under his care
while he was connected with the institutions above-named, was proba-
bly greater than that of any other professor in the city. He devoted
from four to six hours a day to public and private instruction in the
several departments of the science ; other portions of time were devot-
ed to the labor of practice. With the termination of all collegiate du-
ties, he resolved to confine his attention to the practice of physic ex-
clusively. In his parting address to his public class, he stated the
causes which would thereafter dissolve the relationship of pupil and
preceptor, paid the tribute of grateful respect to the magnanimous pa-
trons by whom the College had been countenanced, and held up to ad-
miration and example that guardian genius of all establishments for
the diffusion of useful knowledge, — Dewitt Clinton.
DR. FRANCIS'S early introduction to practice and teaching, however
laborious and anxious the task, led not to the neglect of those inter-
vals of leisure which occur in the lives of all. Convinced that the
charms of medical reading, and the diffusion of medical and scientific
knowledge, would both be promoted by the establishment of a new
periodical journal in New-York, he, while a student, united with his
preceptor, Dr. Hosack. and issued, in 1810, a prospectus for the Ame-
rican Medical and Philosophical Register. This work was published
quarterly, and continued for four years. It was filled almost entirely
with original materials. After the completion of the fourth volume,
the editors assumed the responsibility of the work, and announced
their names. In conjunction with the late Dr. Dyckman and Dr.
Beck, he was for some time editor of the New- York Medical and
Physical Journal, which was projected in 1822. He continued as one
of the editors until the termination of the third volume. This work
contains a number of his medical observations and records.
DR. FRANCIS has written papers, in many different medical and
scientific journals in the United States, on subjects connected with
his profession : among the most prominent of these, and of a practical
nature, are his observations on the use of vitriolic emetics in croup,
with details of cases in which this remedy was effective after the
formation of the adventitious membrane lining the trachea. This novel
method of cure has since often proved successful in other hands in
this country, and has recently been adopted abroad : remarks on the
goitre as it prevails in the western parts of New- York and Canada :
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
cases of ovarian disease ; on the medicinal properties of the sangui-
naria Canadensis : history of a remarkable case of a diverticulum
of the ilium: cases in morbid anatomy : facts and inferences in medi-
cal jurisprudence : on phlegmasia dolens occurring in the male sub-
ject ; on caries of the lower jaw in children : on elaterium and cro-
ton oil : cases of icthyosis : observations on the mineral waters of Avon
in Livingston County, New- York, deduced from chemical experiments
and medicinal trials. His letter on febrile contagion, dated in Lon-
don, 1816, and addressed to Dr. Hosack, contains an exposition of cer-
tain British writers, on the insusceptibility of the human constitution
to a second attack of the yellow fever. This curious fact concerning
the nature of this disease in certain latitudes, which was strongly
maintained by various authors of Great Britain and the West Indies,
received additional support, in many striking cases, from the observa-
tions which this letter brought to light, that had been made by many
American physicians upon the pestilence in different seaports of the
United States. Other papers might be referred to containing his cli-
nical opinions ; his reflections upon the nature and treatment of scarlet
fever and other disorders may be found in the improved edition of
Good's Study of Medicine edited by Dr. Doane.
State medicine, or that division of science which comprehends the
principles of evidence afforded by the different branches of medicine,
in elucidating and determining questions in courts of law, had been
long and advantageously taught in German and other continental
universities, when, in 1807, the chair of Medical Jurisprudence was
founded at the University of Edinburgh, and Dr. Duncan, Jim.,
appointed Professor. The following year Dr. Stringham, who had
graduated at that school, gave a course of lectures, the first delivered
in the United States, on the same subject, in the college at New- York.
As his successor, DR. FRANCIS was among the earliest, teachers in the
United States of this important and now generally cultivated depart-
ment of knowledge. But it was not merely as a teacher that he ex-
hibited the extent of his inquiries and practical researches in forensic
medicine, and enlisted the enthusiasm of the student. During the
greater part of his professional career, in almost every case of criminal
prosecution in our judicial courts, his opinions have been solicited, and
have seldom or ever been the subject of doubt or controversy. DR.
FRANCIS invariably availed himself of the deductions which ana-
tomy and pathology afford.
Nor have either his studies or his writings been confined to subjects
strictly professional. Several of his biographical notices are valuable
JOHN W. FRANCIS.
Contributions to the stock of elegant and general literature : these
sketches are drawn with a free and manly hand, with faithfulness and
discrimination. Among the most valuable of them may be mentioned
his account of Cadwallader Golden, one of the earliest practitioners
of physic in New- York ; those of Edward Miller, Benjamin Rush,
Archibald Bruce ; James S. Stringham, Thomas Eddy. His record of
Samuel L. Mitchill, in the first volume of the National Portrait Gal-
lery, is an honorable testimony to the memory of that remarkable
man, whose genius and character will be more highly valued the
longer his merits are contemplated. The occasional addresses of DR.
FRANCIS are written with taste and spirit united with candor and good
feeling. His address to the New- York Horticultural Society, in elegant
language, portrays the beauties of nature adorned by art. The ora-
tion before the literary societies of Columbia College, in May, 1831,
exhibits an important outline of the life and services of that distin-
guished patriot, the late Chancellor Livingston. The venerable
President Madison transmitted a letter of approbation to the author,
for the service he had rendered to American Biography, by his inter-
esting account of the revolutionary patriot.* His discourse at the
opening of the new liali of the Lyceum of Natural History, as yet
but partially in print, is perhaps his most extensive production. It
was delivered in December, 1836 : its object is to recommend the cul-
tivation of the natural sciences, and to bring together the most striking
and important facts yet made known, concerning the natural history
and physical resources of the new world.
The humane physician is perhaps more exposed than any other
member of society to taxes on his time and benevolence : in seasons
of pestilence and calamity, the claims of charity are not to be slighted
or avoided. The later visitations of the yellow fever, and of the malig-
nant cholera, bear witness to his sensibility to the cause of humanity,
and to his intrepid discharge of his duties. His clinical views of the
new Asiatic plague, as it prevailed in New- York in 1832, in which
city it entombed upwards of four thousand inhabitants, are published in.
a letter to Dr. Reed of Savannah. This letter was so favorably received
at that anxious period, that more than one hundred thousand copies,
in various forms, were circulated in different sections of the Union. In
France it excited the attention of professional men ; and the authorities
at Havanna, when the cholera appeared there, hud the pamphlet trans-
lated into the Spanish language, and widely diffused through the
island of Cuba.
* This biography is re-published in the 3d volume of this work.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
DR. FRANCIS has been honored with membership in many humane,
literary, and scientific societies at home and abroad, and is in corres-
pondence with several of their associates.
The foregoing sketch of DR. FRANCIS exhibits a life more active
than eventful, but evidently one that would have been far more event-
ful had it been less active. Engaged in the duties of a laborious pro-
fession, in a great city, at the early age of twenty, and soon after called
upon to apply all his unexpended energies to sustain and advance the
reputation of a newly-established medical school, and to assist in edit-
ing a medical journal, he could have found but little leisure for un-
broken study, or the preparation of elaborate treatises on the art to
which he is devoted. Untiring activity in his proper vocation, and
scrupulous devotion to its claims, have characterized his whole pro-
fessional career. The hope of being able to relieve his suffering
fellow-beings has ever been sufficient to call forth every exertion,
and every sacrifice in his power to make. The call of poverty
has always been as loud in his ear, and has been answered with as
much alacrity, as that of wealth. It is well known that his services
and his contributions to the relief of distress, would together amount
to sums surpassing the charities of many men of the largest means.
There are many extraordinary traits in the character of the subject of
this memoir, which have scarcely been touched upon from its neces-
sary brevity ; among them none more remarkable than the facility
and fidelity with which he goes through his duties ;. the every-day
demands constantly develope in him an energy, a power of endurance,
and a disregard to personal comfort, that are called forth in others only
by great emergencies and trying occasions. The amount of labor
performed by him is almost unexampled ; he accomplishes more of
every thing, and besides has more of social enjoyment, than most
others. It is the same with his mind as with his body : no drafts upon
it exhaust its power, its stock is always at command. The possessor of
such a mind must naturally sigh for a release from the thraldom of pro-
fessional toil, and the liberty to expatiate freely and widely in the regions
of thought. If such a boon is ever earned by years of faithful ser-
vice, and benevolent exertion in the cause of humanity, DR. FRANCIS
will not fail of obtaining it ; and we know that he would ask for him-
self no higher reward, nor would we ask for him greater glory, or for
science more honor, than he would confer upon her, could he be al-
lowed to enjoy it,
10
THENEWYORK
P'mr'^ LIBRARY
A8TOf», LSNOX AND
TILDEN
Engraved by J. Gross
1L
L. L. 1). K K. S.
NATHANIEL BOWDITCH,
LL. D. F.R.S.
OF all the various branches of intellectual pursuit, that science
which explains the system of the universe, and reveals the mechanism
of the heavens, must always take the lead as the most sublime and
marvellous ; and the foremost and most successful cultivators of this
science will always be classed among the greatest of men. What,
indeed, can be more astonishing than that a being like one of us, en-
dowed, apparently, with no higher or different powers, should be able
to obtain so minute and accurate knowledge of those distant planets,
and be as well acquainted with their constitution, elements, and laws,
as the geologist, the chemist, the botanist, with the appropriate objects
of their sciences ? Nothing gives so exalted an idea of the power of
man, and the extent and reach of his capacities, as his ability to cal-
culate with unerring precision the distances of those twinkling orbs ;
to determine their figures, magnitudes, and velocities ; to measure their
weight, estimate their relative attractions and disturbing forces ; deli-
neate their orbits, register their laws of motion, fix the times of their
revolution, and predict the periods of their return. To a common
mind, uninstructed in the science, there is nothing that appears so much
like divine wisdom. A Galileo, a Kepler, a Newton, seem to him to
belong to another race, a higher order of beings. They appear to
possess some additional faculties.
Nothing Cun be more certain than the doctrines of Astronomy.
They rest on impregnable foundations, on the demonstrations of mathe-
matical evidence, than which nothing, except the evidence of con-
sciousness, can be more satisfactory and conclusive. It was a science
that early engaged the notice of men, and it has always exercised a
purifying and elevating influence on its votaries. Indeed, how could
it be otherwise ? Who can look upon those brilliant points, and not
fancy them the spangled pavement of a divine abode ? There is virtue,
as well as poetry and philosophy in them. They shed down a heal-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
ing and restorative influence upon their worshippers. They are the
symbols of endurance and perpetuity.
Death has recently deprived the scientific world of one of its no-
blest ornaments — one, who confessedly occupied the most prominent
place among the scientific men of this country. His position as a
public man, the various posts and offices he filled, and especially the
value of his works to the advancement of science, the improvement
of navigation, and the security of commercial enterprizes, justify the
notice which we now propose to take of his life and character. There
was much of that life instructive and encouraging, particularly to the
young, the friendless, and the poor : there was much in that character
worthy of eulogy and imitation.
NATHANIEL BOWDITCH was born at Salem, Massachusetts, on the
26th day of March, 1773. He was the fourth child of Habakkuk and
Mary Ingersoll Bowditch. His ancestors, for three generations, had
been shipmasters ; and his father, after retiring from that employment,
carried on the trade of a cooper, by which he gained a scanty and
precarious subsistence for a family of seven children. He enjoyed no
other advantages of early instruction than such as could be obtained
at the common public schools of his native town, which were at that
time very inferior to what they have since become, being wholly in-
adequate to furnish even the ground- work of a respectable education.
It was highly honorable to him that, although he had not himself the
benefits of a liberal education, he felt the importance and acknow-
ledged the value of it ; and accordingly gave to his children the best
which the country afforded, and took a deep interest, and, for many
years, an efficient agency in the University at Cambridge. The ad-
vantages of school, such as they were, he was obliged to forego at the
early age often years, that he might go into his father's shop and help
to support the family. He was, however, soon transferred as an ap-
prentice to a ship-chandler, in whose shop he continued until he went
to sea, first as clerk, afterwards as supercargo, and finally as master
and supercargo jointly. It was whilst he was in the ship-chandler's
shop that his characteristic attachment to mathematical pursuits
first developed itself. Every moment of leisure was given to the
slate.
From his earliest years he was a diligent reader ; and he has been
heard to say that, when quite young, he read through a whole Ency-
clopedia without omitting a single article.
He sailed on his first voyage on the llth of January, 1795, at the
ag« of twenty-two, as clerk to Captain Henry Prince on board the
NATHANIEL BOWDITCH.
ship Henry, of Salem. The ship sailed for the Isle of Bourbon, and
returned home after an absence of exactly a year.
His second voyage was made as supercargo on board the jship
Astreea, of Salem, The vessel sailed to Lisbon, touched at Madeira, and
then proceeded to Manilla, and arrived at Salem in May, 1797. He made
his third voyage the following year, to Cadiz and the Mediterranean.
He continued in the same ship, and sailed on his fourth voyage in
1799, to Batavia and Manilla, and returned in 1800. He continued
in the East India trade until 1804, when he quitted the sea, and be-
came President of a Marine Insurance Company in Salem.
In the course of these voyages Mr. BOWDITCH took great interest
in the instruction of the sailors, who could read and write, in the prin-
ciples of navigation ; and he never appeared so happy as when he
could inspire a sailor with a proper sense of his individual importance,
and of the talents he possessed, and might call into action. In this he
was remarkably successful ; and at Salem it was considered a high
recommendation of a seaman that he had sailed with Mr. BOW-
DITCH, and it was often sufficient to procure for him an officer's
berth.
His attention was directed, at an early age, to the Principia of New-
ton ; but as that work was published in Latin, a language which he
had not learned, he was obliged to obtain assistance in translating
it ; but he soon discovered that his own knowledge of the subject,
with the aid of the mathematical processes and diagrams on the
pages of the work, enabled him to comprehend the reasoning of the
author ; and by dint of perseverance he acquired a sufficient know-
ledge of Latin to enable him to read any work of science in it. He
afterwards learned French, for the purpose of having access to the trea-
sures of mathematical science in that language ; and to indulge his
taste for general literature, he studied Spanish, German, and Italian.
It has been stated, in relation to the origin of one of Mr. BOW-
DITCH'S principal works, that on the day previous to his sailing on
his last voyage he was called on by Mr. Edmund M. Blunt, then a
noted publisher of charts and nautical books at Newburyport, and
requested to. continue the corrections which he had previously com-
menced on John Hamilton Moore's book on navigation, then in com-
mon use on board our vessels. This he consented to do ; and in per-
formance of his promise he detected such a multitude of errors, that
it led to the construction of his " New American Practical Naviga-
tor," the first edition of which was published in 1800, and has been
of immense service to the nautical and commercial interests of this
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
country. It is a work abounding with the actual results of his own
experience, and containing simple and expeditious formulas for work-
ing nautical problems. Had he never done any thing else, he would,
by this single act, have conferred a lasting obligation to his native
land. Every vessel that sails from the ports of the United States,
from Eastport to New Orleans, is navigated by the rules and tables of
his book. It is also extensively used in the British and French
navies.
In 1802, at the age of twenty-nine, his ship lying wind-bound at
Boston, he went out to Cambridge to attend the exercises on com-
mencement day ; and whilst standing in one of the aisles of the
church, the President announced his name amongst those on whom
had been conferred the degree of Master of Arts. The annunciation
o
came upon him wholly by surprise. It was the proudest day of his
life ; and of all the distinctions which he subsequently received from
numerous learned and scientific bodies at home and abroad, there was
not one which afforded him half the pleasure, or which he prized so
highly, as this degree from Harvard.
In 1806 Mr. BOWDITCH published his admirable chart of the har-
bors of Salem, Beverly. Marblehead, and Manchester, the survey of
which had occupied him during three summers. This was a work
of great exactness and beauty.
On the establishment of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance
Company, at Boston, in 1823, he was invited to take charge of it,
with the title of Actuary. He accepted of the appointment, and ac-
cordingly removed to that city, where he continued to reside till the
time of his decease. He discharged the duties of his trust with skill
and fidelity, and to the entire satisfaction of the company.
While he resided at Salem, he undertook his translation and com-
mentary on the great work of the French astronomer, La Place, enti-
tled Mccanlque Celeste. This was the great work of his life. The
illustrious author of that work undertakes to explain the whole me-
chanism of our solar system, to account for all its phenomena, and to
reduce all the anomalies in the apparent motions and figures of the
planetary bodies to certain definite laws. It is a work of great ge-
nius and immense depth, and exceedingly difficult to be comprehend-
ed. This arises not merely from the intrinsic difficulty of the subject,
and the medium of proof being the higher branches of the mathema-
tics, but chiefly from the circumstance that the author, taking it for
granted that the subject would be as plain and easy to others as to him-
self, very often omits the intermediate steps and connecting links in his
NATHANIEL BOWDITCH.
demonstrations. He grasps tne conclusion without showing the pro-
cess. Dr. BOWDITCH used to say, " I never come across one of La
Place's ' Thus it plainly appears] without feeling sure that I have-
got hours of hard study before me to fill up the chasm, and find out
and show how it plainly appears." This gigantic task was begun in
the year 1815, and was the regular occupation of his leisure hours to
the time of his death. His elucidation and commentaries, while they
show him to have been as thoroughly master of the mighty subject as
La Place himself, will make that great work — the most profound ot
modern times — accessible to innumerable students, who, without such
aid. would be compelled to forego the use of it. Let it not be said,
in disparagement of the labors of Dr. BOWDITCH, that this was not
an original work, but merely a translation. Suppose it had been so.
What then ? Was it not still a benefaction to those who are ac-
quainted only with the English language to bring this great work
within their reach ? But he did more. It is more than half an origi-
nal commentary and exposition, simplifying and elucidating what was
before complex and obscure ; supplying omissions and deficiencies, for-
tifying the positions with new proofs, and giving additional weight
and efficacy to the old ones ; and, above all, recording the subsequent
discoveries, and bringing down the science to the present time. It
has been asserted that La Place, to whom Dr. BOWDITCH sent a list
of errors, (which, however, he never had the grace to acknowledge in
any way,) once remarked, " I am sure that Dr. BOWDITCH compre-
hends my work, for he has not only detected my errors, but has
shown me how I came to fall into them."
The first volume of the work was published in the year 1829. the
second in 1832, and the third in 1834 ; each volume containing about
a thousand quarto pages. The fourth and last volume was nearly
completed at the time of his decease. He persevered to the last in his
labors upon it ; preparing the copy, and reading the proof-sheets in
the intervals when he was free from pain. Though the work, on its
appearance, met with more purchasers than he expected, yet its cost
was a heavy draft on his income, and an encroachment on his little
property. Yet it was cheerfully paid ; and besides that, he gladly
devoted his time, his talents, his health, and his life, to the cause of
science and the honor of his native land. That work is his monu-
ment. He needs no other.
The progress of Dr. BOWDITCH'S last illness was so unremitting,
that he was not able to complete the final revision of the whole of his
great work. The fifth and only remaining volume is, comparatively,
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of little importance, and it probably would have had but little revision
if he had survived.
Dr. BOWDTTCH was eminently a self-taught and a self-made man.
Whatever knowledge he possessed, — and it was great, — was of his
own acquiring, the fruit of his solitary studies, with but little assist-
ance from abroad. From his youth up, he was a pattern of industry,
enterprise, and perseverance ; suffering no difficulties to discourage,
no disappointments to dishearten him. He combined qualities and
habits which are usually considered incompatible. He was a con-
templative, recluse student ; and at the same time an active public
man. He lived habitually among the stars, and yet he was a shrewd,
practical man, and one of the most skilful of financiers. Judging
from his published works, it might be supposed he had neither taste
nor time for business, or the ordinary affairs of life ; and judging from
the large concerns which he managed, and the vast funds of which he
had the supervision, it would seem impossible he could have had any
time for study. He accomplished all by an economy of time, and the
regularity of his habits. He was a remarkably domestic man. His af-
fections clustered around his own fireside. His attachment to the calm
and simple pleasures of his home was one of the most beautiful traits of
his character. His time was divided between his office and his house ;
he was seldom drawn into company. When at home, he spent his
time in his library, which he loved to have considered the family par-
lor. By very early rising, in winter two hours before light, he was
enabled to accomplish much before others were stirring. After taking
his evening walk he was again always to be found in the library,
pursuing the same attractive studies, but ready and glad, at the en-
trance of a visiter, to throw aside his book, unbend his mind, and in-
dulge in all the gaieties of a light-hearted conversation. There was
nothing that he seemed to enjoy more than the free interchange of
thought on all subjects of common interest. At such times the mathe-
matician, the astronomer, the man of science disappeared ; and he pre-
sented himself as the frank, easy, familiar friend. It was hardly cre-
dible that the agreeable, fascinating companion, who talked so affably
and pleasantly on all the topics of the day, and joined so heartily in the
quiet mirth or the loud laugh, could really be the great mathemati-
cian who had expounded the mechanism of the heavens, and taken
his place with Newton, and Leibnitz, and La Place, amongst the great
proficients in exact science.
Although mathematics was his chief and favorite pursuit, Dr. BOW-
DITCH still had a taste for general literature. He was fond of Shak-
NATHANIEL BOWDITCH.
speare, and Burns, and Bryant, and Sprague ; and remembered and
could repeat whole passages from their works.
He was a man of unsullied purity and most rigid integrity ; and
was always true to his moral as well as intellectual convictions.
From his boyhood, his mind had been religiously impressed. He
had read the Bible under the eye of a pious mother, and he loved to
repeat the sublime and touching language of Holy Writ.
His last days were marked by the same cheerfulness and serenity
of mind that we naturally look for on the death-bed of the pure and
good. The disease of which he died was a schirrus in the stomach.
For four weeks previous to his death, he could take no solid food,
and hardly swallowed any liquid. He suffered, hoxvever, but little
from hunger, but constantly from thirst ; and the only relief and re-
freshment he could find was, in frequently moistening his lips and
mouth with cold water. His frame was consequently exceedingly
attenuated, and his flesh wasted away. At intervals his sufferings
were intense, and the body at times triumphed over the spirit ; but it
was only for a moment, and the spirit again resumed its legitimate
sovereignty. On the morning of his death, when his sight was dim
and his voice almost gone, he called his children around his bed-side,
and, like the patriarch Jacob, addressed each by name. " You see,"
said he. " 1 can distinguish you all, and I now give you my parting
blessing. The time is come ; Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart
in peace according to thy word." These were his last words. He
died on Friday, the 16th day of March, 1838 ; and was buried pri-
vately, on the morning of the following Sabbath, under Trinity Church,
in Summer Street, Boston.
Dr. BOWDITCH twice held a seat in the Executive Council of
"Massachusetts, under the administration of Governors Strono1 and
' O
Brooks ; but he had no taste for public life, no ambition for political
honors.
He was admitted a member of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences in 1799, and was its President from 1829 to the time of his
decease. He received his degree of LL. D. from Harvard University
in 1816, and was elected a member of the Royal Society of Lon-
don in 1818. He contributed a great number of valuable papers to
the Memoirs of the American Academy, and was the author of the
article on Modern Astronomy, in Vol. XX. of the North American
Review. There is also a brief account of the comet of 1806 fur-
nished by him, and published in the Monthly Anthology, Vol. IV.
He was an active and efficient member of the Boston Atheneum, the
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East India Marine Society of Salem, and of several other societies of a
literary or benevolent character.
This brief account of the life and character of " the Great Pilot '
has been condensed from the Rev. Alexander Young's funeral dis-
course and notes.
'::. r •
r
PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK.
Dr. PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK was born on the 7th of July, 1768, in
Third, near Arch street, Philadelphia. His father, Mr. Edmund
Physick, was a native of England ; and his mother, Miss Syng, the
daughter of a highly respectable citizen of Philadelphia, who was
one of the early friends and companions of Franklin ; and whose
name appears on the register of the American Philosophical Society as
one of its founders, and also connected with other undertakings of pub-
lic utility at that period.
The celebrity of Doctor PHYSICK has been so general, that to the
American reader it is almost superfluous to state that he was distin-
guished by a long and brilliant course in Surgery and Medicine ; by
a deep and universal conviction on the medical and public mind of
this country in favor of his skill ; and by traits of character so promi-
nent and so peculiar, that the chances are very improbable of their
being repeated in any other individual. Even if Nature should renew
her production, the difference of circumstances in which it will be
placed, from the immense changes constantly and rapidly occurring
in our social state, will prevent the same mode and degree of develop-
ment.
The subject of our memoir received his academic education from
Robert Proud, in " Friends' Academy," and during the time lived in
the family of Mr. John Tod, the father-in-law of the present Mrs. Ma-
dison. He then entered the classical department of the University of
Pennsylvania, and obtained his knowledge of the languages from Mr.
James Davidson, one of the best scholars of his day, No small fond-
ness for these his earlier studies remained with him to the end of his
life.
Having passed honorably through his college studies, he received
the degree of Bachelor of Arts. His father now considered him ready
to engage in the study of medicine, and placed him under the charge
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of the late Dr. Adam Kuhn one of the most learned and successful
physicians of that day.
His first introduction to anatomy excited strongly his aversion and
disgust to the profession of medicine — it was the boiling of a skeleton
in the Medical College in Fifth street, now the Health Office. He re-
turned home, and implored his father to change his destination ; it was
all in vain. Finding his father thus inexorable, he began his medical
studies in earnest.
When twenty years of age, in 1788, his father took him to London,
and succeeded in fixing him under the direction of Mr. John Hunter,
O *
the great surgeon of the day ; and now looked upon as the first medi-
cal man that the British empire has produced, his posthumous reputa-
tion having gone vastly beyond any that he ever had, when alive.
Being placed in a dissecting-room, he distinguished himself in a
short time by his assiduity, and by the neatness and success of his dis-
sections ; he became a favorite with Mr. Home, the assistant in the
rooms, and also with Mr. Hunter. The confidence and partiality of
the latter were exhibited in the year 1790, while he was still a student
under him, by Mr. Hunter using great exertions, and successfully, to
get him elected House Surgeon to St. George's Hospital.
In the year 1791 he received his diploma from the Royal College
of Surgeons in London. After which he visited Edinburgh, and hav-
ing spent a winter there, took out the degree of Doctor of Medicine
in the University, in 1792. In the latter part of the same year he re-
turned home, highly instructed in his profession ; after having declin-
ed offers by his preceptor Mr. Hunter, of a promising and advantage-
ous kind, for him to settle in London, this course was probably influ-
enced in some degree by his health, which the climate and atmosphere
of that metropolis did not suit.
The year 1793 brought him distinctly and prominently into puh-
lic notice. The premonitory indications of a fatal epidemic being
on the approach, were but too faithfully verified, when, on the 19th of
August, the celebrated Rush announced to his fellow-citizens that a
malignant and mortal fever had broken out among them. This start-
ling intelligence, whereby the repose of the public mind was disturbed,
was received with the agitation and surprise created by some unex-
pected convulsion of nature ; by some it was discredited, and strong
indignation expressed against its author. The celerity, however, with
which the disease invaded the several walks of life, left no room for
disputation, and all that remained to be done, was to make the best
possible arrangements for its visitation. Among the measures of the
PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK.
day, recommended by the College of Physicians on the 27th of Au-
gust, and carried into immediate effect, was the providing a large and
airy hospital in the neighborhood of the city, for the reception of such
poor persons as could not be accommodated with suitable advanta-
ges in private houses. The erection of the Bush Hill Hospital was
the result of this recommendation ; and Dr. PHYSICK having offered
his services, was chosen physician of the same. He left his lodgings
in town, entered immediately upon his new duties, and continued in
the exercise of them till the disease had passed away.
In the year 1794 he was appointed a prescribing physician in the
Philadelphia Dispensary, and a surgeon to the Pennsylvania Hospital ;
the public confidence was also exhibited by his practice increasing with
no ordinary rapidity.
A recurrence of the yellow fever as an epidemic, -in 1798, led again
to a performance of similar duties in the Bush Hill Hospital. The
zeal and fidelity with which he went through these, were recognised
in the presentation of some elegant pieces of silver plate. Their cost
was upwards of one thousand dollars, and they bore the following in-
scription : —
" From the Board of Managers of the Marine and City Hospitals, to
PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK, M. D.
As a mark of their respectful approbation of his voluntary and ines-
timable services, as Resident Physician at the City Hospital
in the calamity of 1798."
On Sept. 18th, 1800, he married Miss Emlen, the daughter of a
gentleman of learning, distinction, and wealth, and who belonged
to the very respectable Society of Friends. She died in 1820, leaving
four chidren now alive — two sons and two daughters.
In 1805, the chair of Surgery in the University of Pennsylvania
havino* been made a distinct one, he was elected to it ; the success of
his operations and lectures in the Pennsylvania Hospital, is considered
to have created and established this change.
In July, 1819, he resigned his chair of Surgery in the University of
Pennsylvania, and was appointed to that of Anatomy, vacated, the pre-
ceding November, by the death of his nephew, Dr. Dorsey.
The latest of his appointments was in 1836, when he was elected an
honorary fellow of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of Lon-
don, and soon after received his diploma ; he is said to have been
very much pleased with this mark of respect from a city where his
early studies had been conducted.
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The earliest commendatory notice of him is found in the Treatise
on the Blood by his preceptor, John Hunter. The latter wishing to
arrive at some general conclusions on certain phenomena of the blood,
as to its coagulability and putrescence under several conditions named,
performed experiments on the subject, which were rather incomplete
and unsatisfactory to himself ; to verify, however, what he had done,
he says, " Many of these experiments were repeated by my desire by
Dr. PHYSICK, now of Philadelphia, when he acted as house-surgeon
to St. George's hospital, whose accuracy I could depend upon."
In 1793 he, in conjunction with Dr. Cathrall, made several dissec-
tions of persons dead of yellow fever, which proved its inflammatory
character, and that its principal violence fell on the stomach. These
observations were not absolutely new, because they had been preceded
by similar ones by Dr. Mitchill, in his account of the yellow fever of
Virginia in 1737 and 1741, and by corresponding ones in the West
Indies. They had, however, an important local influence in correct-
ing the prevailing notions of the disease, by proving, that so far from
being one of debility, it presented the highest possible grade of inflam-
mation.— one exactly similar to what is produced by acrid poisons, as
arsenic, introduced into the stomach. The principle was thus esta-
blished, that the reputed putrid phenomena were merely the expression
of the gastric inflammation, and that the proper treatment was precise-
ly the reverse of what had obtained.
To this advance in the therapeutic indications of a disease so fatal
and so terrifying, was added one of a most important prophylactic or
preventive kind. At a time when it was perilous to the practice, as
well as to the reputation for sanity of any physician, to assert that the
yellow fever was generated among us and not imported, he had the
manliness and dignity to declare openly this obnoxious truth. He
also admonished the people, that the true protection from such visita-
tions, was not in establishing an empty system of quarantine laws, and
thereby interrupting foreign commerce, but in cleanliness at their own
doors and alon^ their own wharves. These were the views taken and
o
enforced at the same time, by the eloquence and fervor of a Rush.
To this idea, constantly urged upon public attention, are to be traced
the very complete and effective arrangements for supplying the city
of Philadelphia with water, by applying, if required, the whole cur-
rent of the Schuylkill to the purpose.
To the walks of Surgery, however, we must look for the genius of
PHYSICK in its most decided and extensive application. It is there
that we find it exhibiting a series of triumphs over cases of dis-
PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK.
ease which had baffled the skill of men only inferior to himself and
it is there that it was most active in inventions to improve and to
palliate established modes of treatment. His management of diseased
joints by perfect rest, elevation, and diet, is a happy substitute for the
errors generated under the use of the term scrofula or white swelling,
and ending either by amputation or in death — sometimes in both.
His treatment of the inflammation of the hip-joint in children (coxalgia),
by a splint, low diet, and frequent purging, exhibits another of those
successful innovations upon ordinary practice. His invention of an ap-
propriate treatment and cure for that loathsome disease, artificial anus,
which invention has been so unceremoniously modified and claimed
by a distinguished French surgeon, the late Baron Dupuytren, is a
proof of the activity and resources of his professional mind. Another
invention, still more frequent in its employment, from the greater num-
ber of such cases, is the application of the seton to the cure of fractures
of bones refusing to unite. Other inventions are found in the treat-
ment of mortification by blisters ; of anthrax by caustic alkali; the
ligature of kid skin for arteries in excisions of the female breast. To
him, also, we owe the original act, if not invention, of pumping out the
stomach in cases of poisoning ; also an improvement in the treatment
of fractures of the condyles of the os humeri, so as to render the resto-
ration perfect. We might in this way go on to enumerate many other
points of excellence about him ; but, however appropriate it might be
to offer a complete exposition of them, the space allotted to a memoir
of this kind must prohibit a more extensive and complete annun-
ciation. Those who have had an opportunity of witnessing his prac-
tice extensively, will at least conclude with us in saying, Nihil te-
tigit, quod non ornavit.
With this great fertility in invention and ardor in the prosecution of
his profession, his original papers, as published, are few, and they are
also very short.
Lecturing for many years on Surgery, his chief organ of publicity
was his class of students. The Elements of Surgery, published by his
nephew, Dr. Dorsey, contain the most perfect account of his opinions
and practice up to that period.
To the preceding claims to professional veneration, were united
physical qualifications of the most perfect kind. He had a correct,
sharp, and discriminating eye ; a hand delicate in its touch and move-
ment, and which never trembled or faltered ; an entire composure and
self-possession, the energy of which increased upon an unexpected
emergency. He had a forethought of all possible contingencies and
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demands daring a great operation, and therefore had every thing pre-
pared for it ; when performed, he entered upon a most conscientious
discharge of his duty to the patient, and watched him with a vigilance
and anxiety which never remitted till his fate was ascertained.
If to the foregoing brilliant qualities as an operator, and the loud plau-
dits which attended their exercise, we add a chastening of feeling which
subdued every sentiment of vanity and regulated entirely his judg-
ment ; and that he had an invincible repugnance, a horror at engaging
in dangerous operations through ostentation, and where the probabili-
ties of cure were not largely in favor of the patient ; we have in this
summary the most perfect example of a surgeon which this country
has ever seen. But as these great points and striking professional
landmarks seldom come iri clusters, it will probably be long in the
course of Providence before there will be a re-union of all the same
excellent qualities.
His operation for the stone on Chief Justice Marshall, in 1831, was
the last of his great efforts. He anticipated it with much anxiety, but
when brought to the point, he rallied finely — every thing was, as usual,
in readiness. The unexpected turn given to the operation by the al-
most incredible number, probably a thousand, of small calculi which
he met with, and their adhesion to the internal coat of the bladder,
did not disconcert him in the slightest deeree. He in a little time de-
O o
tected the existing state of things, and they were brought to a success-
ful conclusion, being followed by a complete cure. This operation
was the more interesting from the distinction of its two principal per-
sonages ; the one, the acknowledged head of the legal profession, and
the other of the medical ; and both sustaining themselves, though in
advanced life, by that tone of moral firmness and dignity which had
advanced them from inconsiderable beginnings to the stations which
they then occupied.
Dr. PHYSICK was of middling stature, and not inclined to corpu-
lence even at his best periods of health. His bust was a remarkably
fine one ; he had a well-formed head and face, the expression of the lat-
ter being thoughtful and pensive, sometimes enlivened in conversation
by a smile, but very seldom so spontaneously. His nose was aquiline
and thin ; and his eye hazel, well-formed, vivid, and searching — his
gaze seemed sometimes to penetrate into the very interior of the body.
His eye acquired additional effect from his pallid, fixed, and statue-like
face. His hands were small, delicate, and flexible. He dressed with
great neatness : his clothes being put on with an exact attention to the
process, and being from year to year of a uniform cut. Many, no
PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK.
doubt, remember the very admirable and characteristic appearance
imparted to his physiognomy and head by the use of hair powder, and
how this almost solitary remnant among the gentlemen of Philadelphia,
of an ancient fashion, seemed to be in entire harmony with his own
individuality of mind and of reputation.
Dr. PHYSICK'S traits as a teacher corresponded with other points
hi his character. His course of Surgery, upon which his reputation
was founded in an especial manner, was eminently practical and in-
structive. He did not pretend to range over the whole field of this
science, but limited himself to topics of daily occurrence, or at least
such as might be expected in the practice of any medical man. Re-
lying upon his own experience and habits of observation, he had but
little to do with the opinions of others ; he quoted them rarely, and
never in such a way as to leave the point unsettled by an array of op-
posite authorities. His opinions were for the most part founded upon
deep reflection, and were decided in one way or another ; he never
leaned to one side and inclined to another, so as to neutralise his
weight ; he either admitted entire want of information, or considered
himself in possession of the requisite degree of it. This tone of senti-
ment pervading his lectures, they were most eminently didactic, and
were listened to with a thorough conviction of their correctness ; indeed,
such was his authority, that it was held almost indisputable — to oppose
it, was to brand one's self with folly.
He decidedly preferred studying every thing for himself in the la-
boratory of Nature, beginning his analysis of the human machine in a
dissecting-room, and solving the problem of its disorders and their cure
in a hospital. The proposition in every disease he considered as
limiting itself to the positive experience of what had done good and
what had done harm. His consultations always assumed this character.
As his opinions were, for the most part, formed with deliberation, so
they were retained with firmness ; and they, like his habits, were du-
rable to an extreme. This we may account for, inasmuch as they
were never taken up on capricious grounds, but always upon the most
scrupulous examination of proof. He required, too, personal proof,
such as would satisfy his understanding, through his eyes, his ears,
and his touch. Naturally exact, systematic, and persevering, these
traits were fully developed by his education and training.
Not being given to expressions of sentimentalities, his cold and steady
manner was mistaken by some for apathy : he felt, however, acute-
ly, when not the slightest external indication of it appeared. He was
always anxious and^ excited when preparing for a great operation, and
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when it was finished, spent sometimes the remainder of the day in bed,
in order to recover and tranquilize himself. The death of patients not
unfrequently laid him up, from the excess of his sensibilities.
Having undergone a protracted illness, which reduced him to a
most suffering and debilitated state, he died on the 13th of December,
1837, being in his seventieth year. He was interred in Christ Church
burying-ground, corner of Fifth and Arch streets, Philadelphia, with
the strongest expressions of public respect.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOk, LtSOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS,
.Tiferaitd ty G. F. Storm from a Drawing by J. B. Lougacre afier the Portrait ty J- S.Copley.
? y SAMUEL ADAMS H
SAMUEL ADAMS was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in September,
1722. His ancestors were amongst the early settlers of New England.
The family has already been traced through its various branches, in the
biographical sketch of President John Adams in this volume, and requires
no further notice in this place. SAMUEL ADAMS was remarkable for
steady application to his studies at the celebrated Latin school of Master
Lovell. He entered Harvard university at an early age. and graduated in
1740, when he discussed the following question, " Whether it be lawful
to resist the supreme magistrate, if the commonwealth cannot otherwise
be preserved." He maintained the affirmative in the presence of the king's
governor and council ; and thus evinced, at that early period, his attach-
ment to the liberties of the people. About the same time he published
a pamphlet, called " Englishmen's Rights," the expense of which he
paid out of the small stipend allowed him by his father while he
was a student.
It has been stated that he intended to have devoted himself to the
gospel ministry, but that his father designed him for the bar ; the inten-
tions of both were overruled by his mother, and the course of life adopt-
ed was that of commerce, to which he was neither inclined nor fitted ;
and although he was placed under the charge of an eminent merchant,
Mr. Thomas Gushing, he acquired little knowledge of business, nor
was he able to support himself when he commenced business on his
own account. The capital given to him by his father, by imprudent
credits and other losses was soon consumed. His father died soon
after, and as he was the eldest son, the care of the family and the
management of the estate devolved upon him.
It may be seen that MR. ADAMS took an interest in political sub-
jects at an early period of life, both from the choice of his subject when
he took his degree at Cambridge, and of his first pamphlet. Similar
subjects occupied his attention afterwards. While yet a clerk to Mr.
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Gushing1, he formed a club, each member of which agreed to furnish a
political essay for a newspaper called the Independent Advertiser.
These essays brought the writers into notice, and they were dubbed,
in derision, the " Whipping-post Club." During the administration oi
Governor Shirley, he was known as a political writer in opposition
to the dangerous union of too much civil and military power in the
hands of one man. His ingenuity, wit, and clear and cogent argu-
ments, gained public confidence, and laid the foundation for that influ-
ence over his fellow-citizens, which made him afterwards a mark for
the especial dislike of the royalists.
In 1763 the agent of Massachusetts in London transmitted intelli-
gence that it was contemplated, by the ministry, to tax the colonies.
This soon produced a great excitement. It was expected that Gover-
nor Bernard would immediately call the Massachusetts house of as-
sembly together, and that such instructions would be sent to the agent
as might have a tendency to prevent the contemplated proceedings ;
but to the surprise of the public, the governor took no notice of the sub-
ject.
In May, 1764. a new election was held of members of the assembly,
and according to custom, written instructions were prepared by the
people for their representatives. MR. ADAMS was one of the five who
were selected by the people of Boston on this occasion. The instruc-
tions were written by him, and were approved by the town. The do-
cument was published at the time in the Boston Gazette, and is said
to be the first public document that denied the " supremacy of the Bri-
tish parliament, and their right to tax the colonies without their own
consent."
It is well known that at this time a private club was formed in Bos-
ton for the purpose of deciding on the most proper measures to be ta-
ken at this important crisis. It was composed of the leading patriots
of the day. It was the secret spring which set in motion the public
body. MR. ADAMS was one of that patriotic conclave, and went
with all his heart into the measures determined on, to resist every in-
fringement of the rights of the colonies. The Stamp Act was a fla-
grant violation of them ; and to surfer it to be quitely carried into ef-
fect, would establish a precedent and encourage further proceedings.
MR. ADAMS was not averse to the manner in which the people evinc-
ed their determined opposition by destroying the stamp papers and
office in Boston ; but he highly disapproved the riots and disorders
which followed, and personally aided the civil power in the suppres-
sion of them.
SAMUEL ADAMS.
He was elected a member of the general assembly of Massachusetts
in 1765, in the place of Oxehbridge Thatcher, deceased. He was
soon after chosen clerk to the House, and acquired influence in the Le-
gislature, in which he continued nearly ten years. He was frequently
upon important committees, and was the soul that animated their most
decisive resolutions. In 1767 he suggested a plan to counteract the
operation of the act imposing duties. It was agreed to by the mer-
chants, and nearly all of them in the province bound themselves, if
the duties were not repealed, not to import any but certain enumerated
articles after the 1st of January, 1769.
He was chairman of the committee appointed by the people of Bos-
ton to wait upon Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson, and urge the
withdrawal of the British troops from the town, after the fatal affray of
the 5th of March, 1770. MR. ADAMS, in a speech of some length,
pressed the subject with great ability, and enumerated the fatal conse-
quences which would ensue if the vote of the town was not immedi-
ately complied with. Hutchinson prevaricated, and denied that the
troops were subject to his authority ; but promised to direct the remo-
val of the 29th regiment. MR. ADAMS again rose. Filled with the
magnitude of the subject, and irritated by the manner in which it had
been treated by the Lieutenant-governor, he replied with indignation
and boldness, <; That it was well known that, acting as governor of the
province, he was by its charter commander-in-chief of his Majesty's
military and naval forces, and, as such, the troops were subject to his
orders ; and if he had the power to remove one regiment, he had the
power to remove both ; and nothing short of that would satisfy the
people ; and it was at his peril if the vote of the town was not imme-
diately complied with ; and if it be longer delayed, he alone must be an-
swerable for the fatal consequences that would ensue." This produced
a momentary silence. It was now dark, and the people were waiting
for the report of their committee. After a short conference with Colo-
nel Dalrymple, Hutchinson gave his consent to the removal of both
regiments, which was accordingly effected the following day.
As early as 1766 MR. ADAMS had been impressed with the impor-
tance of establishing committees of correspondence throughout the co-
lonies ; but the plan was not carried into operation until 1772, when it
was first adopted by Massachusetts on his motion, at a public town
meeting in Boston, and was soon after followed by all the provinces.
Every method had been tried to induce MR. ADAMS to abandon the
cause of his country, which he had supported with so much zea!3
courage, and ability. Threats and caresses had proved equally un-
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availing. Prior to this time there is no certain proof that any direct
attempt was made upon his virtue and integrity, although a report had
been publicly and freely circulated that it had been unsuccessfully
tried by Governor Bernard. Hutchinson knew him too well to make
the attempt. But Governor Gage was empowered to try the experi-
ment. He sent to him a confidential and verbal message by Colonel
Fenton, who waited upon MR. ADAMS, and after the customary salu-
tations, he stated the object of his visit. He said, that an adjustment
of the disputes which existed between England and the colonies, and
a reconciliation, was very desirable as well as important to the interest
of both. That he was authorized from Governor Gage to assure him,
that he had been empowered to confer upon him such benefits as
would be satisfactory, upon the condition that he would engage to
cease in his opposition to the measures of government. He also ob-
served, that it was the advice of Governor Gage to him, not to incur
the further displeasure of his Majesty ; that his conduct had been such
as made him liable to the penalties of an act of Henry VIII. by which
persons could be sent to England for trial of treason or misprision ot
treason, at the discretion of a governor of a province ; but by changing
his political course, he would not only receive great personal advanta-
ges, but would thereby make his peace with the king. MR. ADAMS
listened with apparent interest to this recital. He asked Colonel Fen-
ton if he would truly deliver his reply as it should be given. After
some hesitation, he assented. MR. ADAMS required his word of honor,
which he pledged.
Then rising from his chair, and assuming a determined manner, he
replied, "I trust I have long since made MY PEACE WITH THE KING
OF KINGS. No personal consideration shall induce me to abandon the
righteous cause of my country. Tell Governor Gage, IT is THE AD-
VICE OF SAMUEL ADAMS TO HIM no longer to insult the feelings of
an exasperated people."
With a full sense of his own perilous situation, marked as an object
of ministerial vengeance, laboring under pecuniary embarrassment, but
fearless of personal consequences, he steadily pursued the great object
of his soul, — the liberty of the people.
The time required bold and inflexible measures. Common distress
required common counsel. The aspect was appalling to some of the
most decided patriots of the day. The severity of punishment, which
was inflicted on the people of Boston by the power of England, pro-
duced a melancholy sadness on the friends of American freedom.
The Massachusetts house of assembly was then in session at Salem
SAMUEL ADAMS.
A committee of that body was chosen to consider and report the state
of the province. MR. ADAMS, it is said, observed that some of the
committee were for mild measures, which he judged no way suited to
the present emergency. He conferred with Mr. Warren of Plymouth
upon the necessity of sprited measures, and then said, " Do you keep
the committee in play, and I will go and make a caucus by the time
the evening arrives, and do you meet me." MR. ADAMS secured a
meeting of about five principal members of the house at the time spe-
cified, and repeated his endeavors for the second and third nights,
when the number amounted to more than thirty. The friends of the
administration knew nothing of the matter. The popular leaders took
the sense of the members in a private way, and found that they would
be able to carry their scheme by a sufficient majority. They had their
whole plan completed, prepared their resolutions, and then determined
to bring the business forward ; but before they commenced, the door-
keeper was ordered to let no person in, nor suffer any one to depart.
The subjects for discussion were then introduced by Mu. ADAMS with
his usual eloquence on such great occasions. He was chairman of the
committee, and reported the resolutions for the appointment of dele-
gates to a general congress to be convened at Philadelphia, to consult
on the general safety of America. This report was received with sur-
prise and astonishment by the administration party. Such was the
apprehension of some, that they were apparently desirous to desert the
question. The door-keeper seemed uneasy at his charge, and waver-
ing with regard to the performance of the duty assigned to him. At
this critical juncture, MR. ADAMS relieved him by taking the key
and keeping it himself. The resolutions were passed ; five delegates,
consisting of SAMUEL ADAMS, Thomas Gushing, Robert Treat Paine,
John Adams, and James Bowdoin, were appointed, the expense was
estimated, and funds were voted for the payment. Before the business
was finally closed, a member made a plea of indisposition, and was al-
lowed to leave the house. This person went directly to the Governor,
and informed him of their high-handed proceedings. The Governor
immediately sent his secretary to dissolve the assembly, who found the
door locked. He demanded entrance ; but was answered, that his de-
sire could not be complied with until some important business, then
before the house, was concluded. Finding every method to gain ad-
mission ineffectual, he read the order on the stairs for an immediate
dissolution of the assembly. The order, however, was disregarded by
the house. They continued their deliberations, passed all their in-
tended measures, and then obeyed the mandate for dissolution.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
After many unavailing efforts, both by threats and promises, to al-
lure this inflexible patriot from his devotion to the sacred cause of in-
dependence, Governor Gage at length, on the 12th of June, 1775, is-
sued that memorable proclamation, of which the following is an ex-
tract : — " In this exigency of complicated calamities, I avail myself of
the last efforts within the bounds of my dufy to spare the further effu-
sion of blood, to offer, and I do hereby in his Majesty's name offer and
promise, his most gracious pardon to all persons who shall forthwith
lay down their arms, and return to the duties of peaceable subjects,
excepting only from the benefit of such pardon, SAMUEL ADAMS and
John Hancock, whose offences are of too flagitious a nature to admit of
any other consideration than that of condign punishment." This was
a diploma, conferring greater honors on the individuals than any
other which was within the power of his Britannic majesty to bestow.
In a letter, dated April, 1776, at Philadelphia, while he was in con-
gress, to Major Hawley of Massachusetts, he said, " I am perfectly satis-
fied of the necessity of a public and explicit declaration of indepen-
dence. 1 cannot conceive what good reason can be assigned against
it. Will it widen the breach ? This would be a strange question
after we have raised armies and fought battles with the British troops ;
set up an American navy, permitted the inhabitants of these colonies
to fit out armed vessels to capture the ships, &c. belonging to any of
the inhabitants of Great Britain ; declaring them the enemies of the
United Colonies, arid torn into shivers their acts of trade, by allowing
commerce, subject to regulations to be made by ourselves, with the
people of all countries, except such as are subject to the British king.
It cannot, surely, after all this, be imagined that we consider ourselves,
or mean to be considered by others, in any other state than that of in-
dependence."
In another letter to James Warren, Esq. dated Baltimore, December
31, 1776, he said, " I assure you business has been done since we came
to this place, more to my satisfaction than any or every thing done be-
fore, excepting the ' Declaration of Independence,' which should have
been made immediately after the 19th of April, 1775."
Notwithstanding we had raised armies, built navies, fought battles,
O ' J I
and had seen the public grievances still unredressed, yet the minds of
many of the leading Whigs were not prepared for the great question of
a final separation of the two countries till July 4, 1776.
The character of MR. ADAMS had become celebrated in foreign
countries. In 1773 he had been chosen a member of the society of
SAMUEL ADAMS.
the bill of rights in London; and in 1774 John Adams and Doctor
Joseph Warren were elected on his nomination.
Our patriots, in their progress to independence, had successfully en-
countered many formidable obstacles ; but in the year 1777 still great-
er difficulties arose, at the prospect of which some of the stoutest
hearts began to falter. It was at this critical juncture, after Congress
hud resolved to adjourn from Philadelphia to Lancaster, that some of
the leading members accidentally met in company with each other. A
conversation in mutual confidence ensued. MR. ADAMS, who was one
of the number, was cheerful and undismayed at the aspect of affairs ;
while the countenances of his friends were- strongly marked with the
desponding feelings of their hearts. The conversation naturally turned
upon the subject which most engaged their feelings. Each took occa-
sion to express his opinions on the situation of the public cause, and
all were gloomy and sad. Ma. ADAMS listened in silence till they had
finished. He then said, " Gentlemen, your spirits appear to be heavily
oppressed with our public calamities. I hope you do not despair of
our final success ?" It was answered, " That the chance was desperate."
MR. ADAMS replied, "If this be our language, it is so, indeed. If we
wear long faces, they will become fashionable. The people take their
tone from ours ; and if we despair, can it be expected that they will con-
tinue their efforts in what we conceive to be a hopeless cause? Let
us banish such feelings, and show a spirit that will keep alive the con-
fidence of the people rather than damp their courage. Better tidings
will soon arrive. Our cause is just and righteous, and we shall never
be abandoned by Heaven while we show ourselves worthy of its aid
and protection."
At this time there were but twenty-eight of the members of Con-
gress present at Philadelphia. MR. ADAMS said, "That this was the
smallest, but the truest Congress they ever had."
But a few days had elapsed when the news arrived of the glorious
success at Saratoga, which gave a new complexion to our affairs and
confidence to our hopes.
Soon after this, Lord Howe, the Earl of Carlisle, and Mr. Eden, ar-
rived as commissioners to treat for peace under Lord North's concilia-
tory proposition. MR. ADAMS was one of the committee chosen by
Congress to draught an answer to their letter. In this it is stated,
" That Congress will readily attend to such terms of peace as may con-
sist with the honor of an independent nation."
At this time the enemies of our freedom were busily employed to
create disunion among its friends. Reports were circulated of attempts
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
to deprive General Washington of his command, in which, it was said,
MR. ADAMS was a principal leader. This was not true. It is pos-
sible that some warm expressions may have fallen from him when he
spoke of the multiplied disasters which attended our military opera-
tions, and of the effects they produced on the public mind ; and for po-
litical purposes, our opponents gave to them, probably, a different and
distorted sense.
In a letter to his friend, Richard Henry Lee, Esq. dated in 1789, in
speaking of executive appointments as provided for in the constitution
of the United States, he thus notices the subject : " I need not tell you,
who have known so thoroughly the sentiments of my heart, that I have
always had a very high esteem for the late commander-in-chief of our
armies ; and I now most sincerely believe, that while President Wash-
ington continues in the chair, he will be able to give, to all good men,
a satisfactory reason for every instance of his public conduct. I feel
myself constrained, contrary to my usual manner, to make professions
of sincerity on this occasion ; because Doctor Gordon, in his History of
the Revolution, has gravely said that I was concerned in an attempt
to remove General Washington from command ; and mentions an ano-
nymous letter to your late Governor Henry, which I affirm I never
saw, nor heard of. till I lately met with it in reading the history."
In 1779 SAMUEL ADAMS was placed by the state convention on a
committee to prepare and report a form of government for Massachu-
setts. By this committee he and John Adams were appointed a sub-
committee to furnish a draught of the constitution. The draught pro-
duced by them was reported to the convention, and, after some amend-
ments, accepted. The address of the convention to the people was
jointly written by them.
In 1781 he was elected a member of the Senate of Massachusetts,
and was shortly afterwards elevated to the presidency of that body.
In 1787 he was chosen a member of the Massachusetts convention
for the ratification of the constitution of the United States. He had
some objections to it in its reported form ; the principal of which was
to that article which rendered the several States amenable to the Courts
of the nation. He thought that this would reduce them to mere cor-
porations. There was a very powerful opposition to it. and some of
its most zealous friends and supporters were fearful that it would not
be accepted.
MR. ADAMS had not then given his sentiments upon it in the con-
vention ; but regularly attended the debates.
Some of the leading advocates waited upon MR. ADAMS and Mr.
SAMUEL ADAMS.
Hancock, to ascertain their opinions and wishes, in a private manner.
MR. ADAMS stated his objections, and said that he should not give it
his support unless certain amendments were recommended to be adopt-
ed. These he enumerated. Mr. Hancock was president of the con-
vention, and at that time confined to his house by indisposition. His
opinion coincided with that of MR. ADAMS ; and he observed, that he
would attend and give it his support upon the same condition express-
ed by MR. ADAMS. This was mutually agreed to. MR. ADAMS pre-
pared his amendments, which were brought before the convention, and
referred to a committee, who made some inconsiderable alterations,
with which the constitution was accepted. Some of these were after-
wards agreed to as amendments, and form, at present, a part of that
instrument.
In 1789 he was elected Lieutenant-governor of the State of Massa-
chusetts, and continued to fill that office till 1794, when he was chosen
governor of that state. He was annually re-elected till 1797, when,
oppressed with years and bodily affirmities, he declined being again a
candidate, and retired to private life.
After many years of incessant exertions, employed in the establish-
ment of the independence of America, he died on the 3d October, 1803,
in the eighty-second year of his age, in indigent circumstances.
The person of SAMUEL ADAMS was of middle size. His countenance
was a true index of his mind, and possessed those lofty and elevated
characteristics which are always found to accompany true greatness.
He was a steady professor of the Christian religion, and uniformly
attended public worship. His family devotions were regularly per-
formed, and his morality was never impeached.
In his manners and deportment he was sincere and unaffected; in
conversation, pleasing and instructive ; and in his friendships, stead-
fast and affectionate.
His revolutionary labors were not surpassed by those of any indi-
vidual. From the commencement of the dispute with Great Britain
he was incessantly employed in public service ; opposing, at one time,
the doctrine of the supremacy of " parliament in all cases," taking the
lead in questions of controverted policy with the royal governors, writ-
ing state papers from 1765 to 1774 ; — in planning and organizing
clubs and committees, haranguing in town meetings, or filling the
columns of public prints with essays adapted to the spirit and temper
of the times. In addition to these occupations, he maintained an exten
sive and laborious correspondence with the friends of American free
dom in Great Britain and in the provinces.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
No man was more intrepid and dauntless when encompassed by
dangers, or more calm and unmoved amid public disasters and adverse
fortune. His bold and daring conduct and language subjected him to
great personal hazards. Had any fatal event occurred to our country,
by which she had fallen in her struggle for liberty. SAMUEL ADAMS
would have been the first victim of ministerial vengeance. His blood
o
would have been first shed as a sacrifice on the altar of tyranny, for
the noble magnanimity and independence with which he defended
the cause of freedom. But such was his firmness, that he probably
would have met death with as much composure as he regarded it
with unconcern.
His writings were numerous, and much distinguished for their ele-
gance and fervor ; but, unfortunately, the greater part of them have
been lost, or so distributed as to render their collection impossible.
He was the author of a letter to the Earl of Hillsborough ; — of many
political essays directed against the administration of Governor Shirley;
—of a letter in answer to Thomas Paine in defence of Christianity,
and of an oration published in the year 1776.
Four letters of his correspondence on government are extant, and
were published in a pamphlet form in 1800.
MR. ADAMS'S eloquence was of a peculiar character. His language
was pure, concise, and impressive. He was more logical than figura-
tive. His arguments were addressed rather to the understanding than
to the feelings ; yet he always engaged the deepest attention of his au-
dience. On ordinary occasions there was nothing remarkable in his
speeches ; but on great questions, when his own feelings were interest-
ed, he would combine every thing great in oratory. In the language
of an elegant writer, the great qualities of his mind were fully display-
ed in proportion as the field for their exertion was extended ; and the
energy of his language was not inferior to the depth of his mind. It
was an eloquence admirably adapted to the age in which he flourished,
and exactly calculated to attain the object of his pursuit. It may well
be described in the language of the poet, " thoughts which breathe,
and words which bum." An eloquence, not consisting of theatrical
gesture or the pomp of words ; but that which was a true picture of
a heart glowing with the sublime enthusiasm and ardor of patriotism ;
an eloquence, to which his fellow-citizens listened with applause and
rapture ; and little inferior to the best models of antiquity, for simplicity,
majesty, and persuasion.
10
,M A .11 ' I! I \ !•'. X I-: 1: \ I.
W INFIELD SCOTT.
WINFIELD SCOTT was born, on the 13th of June, 1785, in the coun-
ty of Dinwiddie, near Petersburg!!, Virginia. Being intended for the
law, he received a liberal education, and was graduated at Williams
and Mary College. In 1806, having completed his studies, he com-
menced practice at the bar ; and his talents and acquirements bid fair
to introduce him in a short time to a lucrative business. In 1807, the
outrage upon the frigate Chesapeake roused the indignant feelings of
the nation ; redress was loudly called for, and the more ardent of our
countrymen anticipated an immediate war. The measures of Congress
at their next session rendering a rupture probable, young SCOTT for-
sook the law, and accepted a commission as the captain in a regiment of
light artillery, which was raised upon the enlargement of the army.
In this capacity he remained prosecuting his military studies, until the
declaration of war opened a more arduous field for the exercise of his
talents.
During the early part of his military career, Capt. SCOTT con-
ceiving himself injured by his commanding officer, Gen. Wilkin-
son, expressed himself very freely regarding that gentleman. For this
offence having been brought before a court-martial, and not being al-
lowed to adduce in his defence the provocation received, he was found
guilty, and sentenced to be suspended for twelve months from his com-
mand.
In the spring of 1812 he acted as Judge Advocate on the trial of
Col. Gushing. His speech on this occasion affords honorable testirno-
my both of his legal attainments and rhetorical ability.
On the 6th of July, 1812, SCOTT was promoted to the rank of Lieut.
Col. in the 2nd regiment of artillery ; and early in the autumn of the
same year he was posted with his regiment at Black Rock, to protect
the navy yard at that place.
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
On the 9th of October Lieut. Elliot of the navy, at the head of a
small party of seamen and a few troops, whom Col. SCOTT had des-
patched to his assistance, succeeded in cutting out two small brigs, the
Detroit and Caledonia, from under the guns of fort Erie. In dropping
down the river, the Detroit became unmanageable, and taking a wrong
channel, grounded under the guns of the enemy's battery. Here she
was abandoned by her crew, and immediately afterwards taken pos-
session of by the British. By the well-directed fire of a few light guns
stationed opposite, Col. SCOTT again obtained possession of the brig,
and held it until the vessel was burnt. This was the first time he was
actually engaged with an enemy.
On the 13th of October the attack upon Qjieenston under Col. So-
lomon Van Rensselaer took place. On the day previous, Lieut. Col.
SCOTT had arrived with his regiment at Schlosser, twelve miles from
Lewiston. Obtaining here some information of the anticipated move-
ment, he rode immediately to Lewiston, and earnestly entreated Gen.
Van Rensselaer that he might accompany the expedition. The
General, however, informed him that his arrangements had already
been perfected, and that, consequently, his request could not be acceded
to. Anxious at all events to be near the scene of action, SCOTT obtained
permission to march his regiment to Lewiston, and to use his artillery
as circumstances might direct. In the early part of the action which fol-
lowed, he bore no part ; but it soon being announced that both Col.
Fenwick and Col. Van Rensselaer had fallen severely wounded, Col.
SCOTT'S renewed request to be sent across the river was finally acced-
ed to. The Americans were already in possession of the heights ;
having driven the enemy before them, and repulsed an attack under
Gen. Brock, who had come up with reinforcements, Gen. Brock being
himself killed in the engagement.
On his arrival Col. SCOTT found the troops in considerable disorder.
Announcing his name and rank, he immediately formed them into
line. On counting, they amounted to three hundred and fifty regulars,
rank and file, and two hundred and fifty-seven volunteers, under Gen.
Wads worth and Col. Stranahan. Col. SCOTT'S attention was now di-
rected to an eighteen-pounder, which the enemy in his retreat had left in
the hands of the Americans after having hastily spiked it, and he pro-
ceeded in person to direct the measures for rendering the piece again
useful. Returning in a short time, he was surprised to find a large
body of Indians in the act of attacking the American lines, while the
troops, already in some confusion, were on the point of giving way.
His presence quickly changed the state of affairs. The troops reco-
WINFIELD SCOTT.
vercd their firmness, and the Indians were compelled to make a speedy
retreat.
For several hours the Americans maintained their position unmo-
lested by the regular troops of the enemy, who were waiting to be re-
inforced from Fort George. During this time the Indians repeatedly at-
tacked the American line ; two of them in particular appeared to single
out Gen. SCOTT, who was conspicuous by his commanding stature and
the brilliancy of his uniform, as the special object of their attack. To
such a marked degree was this the case, that Major Towson sent a
message to SCOTT upon the subject, accompanied by his own overcoat,
and a request for him to put it on. Bat SCOTT declined to take ad-
vantage of this considerate kindness ; and the Indians were finally
driven from a wood, to which they had retreated, by a charge which he
gallantly led in person.
While these transactions were taking place upon the Canadian shore,
every effort was made by the commanding officers to induce the Ame-
rican militia on the opposite side of the river to cross over to the as-
sistance of their countrymen, but in vain ; entreaty was wasted upon
them ; and as all the boats were upon the American side, the little band
under SCOTT was left to await a fate, from which there was no retreat.
The enemy having been reinforced by the garrison from Fort George,
under Gen. Sheaffe, now numbered in regulars, Indians, and militia,
over one thousand men. At the head of this superior force Gen.
Sheaffe advanced steadily, but slowly and cautiously, upon an
enemy whose valor had already been felt. At length they closed.
For a short time the Americans maintained their position ; but, press-
ed upon by a greatly superior force, and nearly surrounded, they at
length gave way, and retreated to the bank of the river. All had now
been done that was required by honor, and longer resistance would
only have sacrificed in vain the lives of brave men. Terms of capitu-
lation were accordingly agreed upon, and Col. SCOTT surrendered into
the hands of the enemy his whole force, now reduced to one hun-
dred and thirty-nine regulars and one hundred and fifty-four militia ;
in all two hundred and ninety-three men. To SCOTT'S mortification,
the number of prisoners was afterwards swelled by several hundreds
of militia, who, having crossed over to the Canadian shore, had con-
cealed themselves among the rocks, and had never taken the slightest
share in the action. After the surrender, two of the Indian chiefs
came up to SCOTT, and could not be persuaded that he had escaped,
unwounded, the numerous balls they had levelled at him.
From dueenston SCOTT was sent to Quebec ; and thence, having
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
been parolled, he embarked for Boston. Soon afterwards, in January,
1813, he was exchanged.
In the spring, Col. SCOTT joined the army at Fort Niagara, under
the command of Maj. Gen. Dearborn, in the capacity of Adjutant-ge-
neral. This office was then new in our service, but SCOTT succeeded
in regulating its details, and discharging its duties in a manner alike
satisfactory to the commanding officer and beneficial to the service.
By the latter part of May, Gen. Dearborn had assembled in the neigh-
borhood of Niagara a force of near five thousand men ; and arrange-
ments were consequently entered upon, by him and Commodore Chaun-
cey, for the attack on Fort George. On the 26th of May, at one o'clock
in the morning, the army embarked in boats, under the immediate com-
mand of Major-general Lewis. It was formed in six divisions ; of these
SCOTT was selected to lead the first, numbering about five hundred men.
At nine in the morning Col. S. effected a landing under a heavy fire of
musketry and cannon, about a mile and a quarter from Newark, and
the same distance west of the mouth of the Niagara. Forming his men
under the shelter of a bank which partially protected them from the
fire of the enemy, he immediately led them to the assault. The enemy,
about fifteen hundred strong, were formed immediately upon the brow
of a hill. A vigorous charge up hill soon drove them from their ad-
vantageous position at the point of the bayonet. Retreating, they ral-
lied, and took up a new position behind a ravine at a little distance.
Here the action was renewed, and for about twenty minutes was se-
vere and well-contested. The division under Gen. Boyd had now
landed, and rapidly advanced to the support of Col. SCOTT ; the enemy
was again compelled to retreat, closely followed by the 1st division un-
til it was recalled from the pursuit. On approaching Fort George, it
was perceived that the enemy was about abandoning the works. Two
companies were detached from the head of the pursuing column to
prevent this movement, and a few prisoners were made. While the
American troops were about eighty paces distant, one of the magazines
blew up with a tremendous explosion. The gates were immediately
forced, and Col. SCOTT being the first to enter, removed, with his own
hands, the British flag, which was still flying on the works ; while
Captains Hindman and Stockton extinguished the matches by which
it was intended to fire the other magazines. In his despatches, Gen.
Dearborn, after praising the universal good conduct of those engaged,
mentions Col. SCOTT among those who had pre-eminently distinguish-
ed themselves by their bravery and conduct.
During the summer of 1813, though engaged in several skirmishes
4
WINFIELD SCOTT.
in which he displayed his usual gallantry, Col. SCOTT had no oppor-
tunity of particularly distinguishing himself. The army under its
successive commanders, Gen. Dearborn, Lewis, Boyd, and Wilkinson,
remained quietly in the neighborhood of Fort George ; and the subor-
dinate officers necessarily partook of its inactivity.
In the commencement of October, the army under Gen. Wilkinson
was embarked, and proceeded down the lake on the fruitless expedi-
tion against Montreal. Col. SCOTT was left in command of the garri-
son of Fort George, consisting of between seven and eight thousand
men, regulars and militia. For a few days the movements of the Bri-
tish General rendered it a matter of doubt whether or not he was
about to attack the garrison; during this time SCOTT was assiduously
employed in strengthening his defences. On the 9th of October De
Rottenburg suddenly broke up his encampment, and retreated to Bur-
lington Heights, fifty-three miles distant ; according to the instructions
of the commanding officer, Col. SCOTT was now relieved of the com-
mand of the fort, and he immediately marched his regiment to Sackett's
Harbor, there to join the expedition under Gen, Wilkinson. It is well
known that the expedition, after exciting much expectation, finally re-
sulted in utter failure. The troops endured great fatigue, and en-
countered considerable danger in the difficult and perilous navigation
of the St. Lawrence, without obtaining an opportunity of distinguish-
ing themselves or benefitling their country.
Col. SCOTT spent part of the winter of 1813-14 in Albany. On the
9th of March he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-general, and he
joined Gen. Brown on his route to Niagara, in the commencement of
the next month. Soon after Gen. Brown was called to Sackett's Harbor,
and the command, in consequence, devolved upon Gen. SCOTT, who im-
mediately assembled the army and established a camp of instruction.
His whole attention was now given to perfecting the discipline of the
troops, to give them that celerity and combination of movement, which
in modern times has made war a science, and rendered individual
prowess of so little avail. For two months and a half the troops were
drilled daily from seven to nine hours each day. until finally they ex-
hibited a perfection of discipline, never before attained in our army.
They were now prepared to meet on terms of equality the veteran
troops of the enemy, and they soon had an opportunity of showing the
advantages they had derived from their instruction. In June, Major
Gen. Brown reached Buffalo with reinforcements, and in the com-
mencement of the next month the campaign was opened. The Nia-
gara was passed on the 3d of July, and Fort Erie was taken on the
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
same day by a portion of SCOTT'S brigade under Major Jessup. On
the morning of the 4th the army moved towards Chippewa, Gen.
SCOTT'S brigade being in advance ; and on the evening of the same
day took up a position on the bank of Street's Creek, about two miles
distant from the British encampment. The stream was in front of the
American position, having beyond it an extensive plain ; its right rest-
ed upon the Niagara, and its left upon a wood. On the following
day the British militia and the Indians having occupied the wood,
commenced annoying the American piquets from it until Brig. Gen.
Porter at the head of his brigade of militia and friendly Indians, drove
the enemy from the wood back upon the Chippewa. Here the British
irregulars being supported by their whole army drawn out in line and
advancing to the attack, Gen. Porter in his turn was compelled to
give way.
The heaviness of the firing informed Gen. Brown of the advance of
the main body of the enemy. It was now about five o'clock in the
afternoon. Gen. SCOTT was at this moment advancing with his
brigade to drill upon the plain on which the battle was afterwards
fought. On the march he met Gen. Brown, who said to him, " The
enemy is advancing — you will have a fight." Beyond this brief re-
mark Gen. SCOTT received no orders from the commanding General,
who passed on to put the reserve in motion. When Gen. SCOTT
reached the stream fronting the American camp, the enemy was drawn
up in order of battle. Crossing the bridge under a heavy fire of artillery,
Gen. SCOTT formed his line. The battalions of Majors Leaven worth
and M'Neil were opposed respectively to the left and centre of the ene-
mies, while the battalion of Major Jessup formed upon the left, and
was ordered to advance upon the British right wing which rested upon
a wood ; and the artillery was posted on the right resting upon the
river. The British line outflanking ours upon the right from the su-
perior number of the enemy, Gen. SCOTT was compelled to increase
the interval between the battalions of Leaven worth and M'Neil. These
movements were executed steadily and with precision. The action
becoming general, Major Jessup having engaged, and broken off the
right wing of the enemy while their main body continued to advance,
gave their army a new flank. Taking advantage of this circumstance,
and assisted by the enlarged interval between the battalions of Leaven-
worth and M'Neil, Gen. SCOTT threw the battalion of the latter for-
ward upon its right flank so as to stand obliquely to the charge of the
enemy, outflanking them upon the right. This movement, executed
with precision, together with the steadiness of our troops and the heavy
WINFIELD SCOTT.
fire from the artillery, decided the fate of the day. The British army
retreated a short distance in good order, then broke, and fled in confu-
sion to their intrenchments beyond the Chippewa.
This action was fought by SCOTT alone against superior numbers.
Gen. Porter's irregular troops had given way in the commencement
of the engagement, and were not again brought into the field ; while
the reserve did not come up in time to take any part in the battle. It
at once gave the troops confidence in themselves and their leaders ;
they had beaten the enemy in a fair field, and with inferior numbers ;
and their success could only be attributed to superior skill and disci-
pline.
On the third day after the action the American army crossed the
Chippewa, the enemy retreating upon its advance. After remaining a
fortnight at Q,ueenston, Gen. Brown recrossed the Chippewa and en-
camped at its mouth. On the afternoon of the next day, July '25th,
SCOTT was ordered again to advance upon Queenston. At the time
the order was received the troops were drawn up for drill, and in con-
sequence the march was entered upon immediately. The forces under
SCOTT consisted of four small battalions, commanded by Col. Brady and
Majors Jessup, Leaven worth, and M'Neil ; a troop of light dragoons, and
some mounted volunteers ; the whole amounting to one thousand and
fifty men. When about three miles from the camp, and in the neigh-
borhood of the falls of Niagara, SCOTT received information that the
enemy was directly in his front, concealed from view by a narrow
strip of woodland which intervened. This proved to be the advanced
corps of the British army, which, under Lieutenant Gen. Drummond,
was advancing to attack the Americans at Chippewa. The enemy was
posted on a ridge running as right angles to the Niagara, his left resting
on the road, between which and the river there was an interval of
about two hundred paces covered with wood ; and his position was still
further strengthened by a formidable battery of artillery. He had al-
ready fifteen hundred men in line, and his force was constantly in-
creasing by the junction of fresh troops on their march from Fort
George.
Notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, after despatching a mes-
senger to Gen. Brown, SCOTT resolved on an immediate attack. Ma-
O *
jor Jessup, supported by Col. Brady, was ordered to penetrate the wood
and turn the enemy's left wing, while the two remaining battalions and
Towson's artillery commenced the action in front. Perceiving that
his right wing extended far beyond that of our little army, the enemy
endeavored to take advantage of this circumstance, and threw forward
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
two battalions to take our array on the left. These were promptly
beaten back. Major Jessup in the mean time succeeded in turning
the left wing of the British army, and gaining the rear, took Maj. Gen.
Riall and several other officers prisoners : then charging through their
line, and cutting off a portion of their wing, he discovered himself to
our troops by a heavy fire upon the enemy. The action, which had
commenced a little before sunset, had now continued above an hour
and a half. The enemy, though his line had been forced in several
places, was constantly receiving fresh reinforcements, and SCOTT'S
men suffered dreadfully from the fire of their artillery. At this time
the reserve under Maj. Gen. Brown came up, and the remainder of the
action was fought under his orders. The remains of SCOTT'S batta-
lions were consolidated into one ; and at the head of this SCOTT twice
charged the enemy, exposing his person in the most dauntless man-
ner, until, having had two horses killed under him, he himself being
already wounded, and after his aids, Lieut. North and Brigade Major
Smith, had both been wounded by his side, he received a musket bull
in the shoulder, which compelled him to retire from the field.
In proportion to the numbers engaged, this was the most sanguinary
battle fouo-ht during1 the war. For more than two hours the hostile
o o
lines were within twenty paces of each other, and charges with the
bayonet were frequent and resolute. Of the nine hundred and twen-
ty men, who constituted the small brigade of SCOTT, four hundred arid
ninety were killed or wounded. Nor was the determined courage
shown in the battle the only circumstance which rendered it remark-
able. It commenced a little before sunset, and continued till eleven at
night by the light of the moon ; while the roar of Niagara, but a short
distance from the field, could be heard amid the din and tumult of
the battle,
On the very day on which was fought the battle of Bridgewater
SCOTT was appointed a Major-general by brevet. His wounds, which
were severe, confined him for a long time ; nor had he again an oppor-
nity of distinguishing himself before the conclusion of peace put an end
to all active service in the field. In the mean time his sufferings were
alleviated by the testimonials of the approbation and gratitude of his
countrymen. Congress ordered him a vote of thanks and a medal;
the legislature of his native state presented him with a similar vote, to-
gether with a sword ; the citizens of Petersburg!! likewise presented
him with a sword, and his name was given to a new county in Vir-
ginia.
WINFIELD SCOTT.
When, in 1815, the army was reduced to the peace establishment, the
Secretary of War required the services of Gen. SCOTT, in conjunction
with those of Gen. Brown, Ripley, and Macomb, to assist in the deli-
cate task of re-organizing the army, and selecting the officers who were
still to remain attached to the service.
In 1817 Gen. SCOTT was drawn into a correspondence with Gen.
Jackson, which occasioned much discussion at the time, and which
subsequently found its way into the public papers. In the spring of
1817 Gen. Jackson had issued an order directing that no commands
issued by the war department should be obeyed unless they came
through him. This order became the subject of public animadver-
sion, and very different views were taken of it by different parties.
The conversation turning upon it in a society in which SCOTT was
present, he expressed an opinion unfavorable to the propriety of the
order. His remarks, colored and distorted, having been conveyed to
Gen. Jackson by an anonymous correspondent, that gentleman address-
ed a letter to Gen. SCOTT upon the subject. In reply, Gen. SCOTT
candidly stated his remarks, and detailed the evils that would result
were the conduct of Gen. Jackson generally imitated. The reply,
though respectful and manly, was not satisfactory ; and in a second let-
ter, after having employed language both harsh and violent, Gen. Jack-
son offered a meeting to SCOTT if he felt himself aggrieved by his
language. SCOTT'S remarks upon this were both moderate and manly.
He says " He thought of New Orleans, and some other affairs, in which
both parties had been engaged ; and it appeared to him that a brace of
pistols could add nothing to the character of either. He conceived
that, at the age he had then attained, some little reputation for modera-
tion and temper began to be an object worthy of consideration. In
fact, it did not once seriously occur to him that the courage of either
could be put in question, and therefore he found himself perfectly at
liberty to consult his sense of justice and propriety, rather than his pas-
sions." A moderate reply was returned, and the correspondence drop-
ped.
In February, 1828. the death of Maj. Gen. Brown, who had for a long
time been the undisputed head of the army, left it without an imme-
diate commander-in-chief. In the following May, Maj. Gen. Macomb
was appointed to the vacant office by the President, by and with the
advice of the Senate. Gen. SCOTT, who by brevet rank was the senior
officer, refused to obey the orders of the new commander-in-chief. The
subject was frequently brought before the National Legislature. Atone
time Gen. SCOTT was suspended from his command, and after
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
memorializing Congress on the subject, he finally considered himself
bound in honor to tender his commission to the President. Congress,
O /
however, supported the views of the Executive, and Gen. SCOTT, though
still maintaining the justice of his position, at the instance of his friends
withdrew his resignation, and continued to be attached to a service of
which he had long been an ornament. Without wishing to revive a
discussion which will soon be forgotten, it is but right to give so much
of SCOTT'S views upon the subject as will serve to justify his course.
In his memorial to Congress he says, " The rank of commander-in-
chief, or the Major-general, is at this time unknown to the laws ; that of
Major-general is, in fact, the highest grade in the army. In all servi-
ces, military command is determined, first, by difference of grade ;
second, by priority in the same grade. Brevet rank has uniformly
been held to give command with ordinary rank, except for obvious
reasons in the body of an unmixed regiment. Gen. Macomb
was Major-general by brevet from the 1st of September, 1814; Gen.
SCOTT from the 25th of July of the same year. Of course, brevet rank
being the same as ordinary rank, Gen. SCOTT could not be command-
ed by his junior officer of the same grade." The President, however,
decided differently ; and the National Legislature concurring with
him, Gen. SCOTT, as we have before stated, yielded to his decision.
Upon the breaking out of the disturbances, in May, 1832, on the
north-western frontier, caused by the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians
under Black Hawk, Gen. SCOTT was ordered to proceed to the scene
of action, and take command of the forces destined to subdue the sava-
ges. He embarked at Buffalo for Chicago early in July, four small
steamboats having been engaged to transport the troops and supplies.
Every one remembers, that in the summer of 1832, that dreadful
scourge, the cholera, whose progress had been traced at first with cu-
riosity, at length with awe and terror, from Asia throughout Europe,
first made its appearance upon our shores. " On the eighth of July,"
writes Gen. SCOTT, " all on board were in high health and spirits, the
next morning six undoubted cases of cholera had presented them-
selves." The first cases of the disease were fearfully fatal. In the
course of a few hours, men previously in the enjoyment of full health
were lifeless corpses. The men being crowded together in a confined
space, the disease spread rapidly ; in the course of a few days one hun-
dred and twenty had been attacked. On arriving at Chicago every
member of the General's staff was ill. Gen. SCOTT continued in good
health, though "he exposed himself," writes Capt. Monroe, who form-
ed one of the expedition, " by attending every officer and soldier taken
10
WINFIELD SCOTT.
sick." Of the eight hundred and fifty men who left Buffalo, the num-
ber was so reduced by death and desertion, caused by fear of the pes-
tilence, that in a short time no more than two hundred were left.
The occurrence of the epidemic detained Gen. SCOTT some time at Chi-
cago. Independently of the condition of the troops, to have joined the
volunteers of Gen. Atkinson's army with them, while the cholera was
still raging, would have caused at once the almost total dispersion of
that necessary corps.
We have not space to detail the events by which the war was speedi-
ly brought to a close. The Indians, dispirited and outnumbered, were,
by a series of well-combined movements, speedily killed, dispersed, or
taken ; and their chiefs, conducted by the policy of the general govern-
ment throughout a greater portion of the Union, learned too well the
power and numbers of the white men again to venture upon a contest
with them.
In the latter part of the year 1835, the discontents, which had long exist-
ed amonga portion of the Seminole Indians, caused by their approaching
removal, broke out into open hostilities ; and on the 28th of December,
the melancholy massacre of Major Dade's detachment showed at once
the determination and force of the hostile party. Gen. SCOTT saw the
Secretary of War at four o'clock on the afternoon of the 20th. Being
asked " When he could set out for Florida ?" he replied, " that night."
His instructions, however, could not be drawn up till the following day.
On the 21st of January of the following year, it having become probable
that many of the Creeks would join the Seminoles, Maj. Gen. SCOTT
received orders to march immediately to the theatre of hostilities, and
assume the command. Having reached Picolata, on the St. John's ri-
ver, SCOTT issued his general orders on the 22d of February. The troops
on the west of the St. John's, under Brig. Gen. Clinch, were to consti-
tute the right wing of the army ; those on the east of the same river,
Tinder Brig. Gen. Eustis, the left ; while those at Tampa Bay, under the
command of Col. Lindsay, were to form the centre. The wings were
to be further strengthened by large reinforcements of volunteers from
the neighboring States.
The Indians were believed at this time to be concentrated in the
neighborhood of the Withlacoochee. Upon this point the three divi-
sions of the army were to march by different routes, and to reach, at a
specified time, their indicated stations. The Indians were now to be
attacked in front by Gen. SCOTT, while the commands under Eustis
and Lindsay were not only to assist in the engagement, but to close in
the rear, and prevent the escape of the Indians to the south-east. Had
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the combined movements been effected in proper time and with ade-
quate means, the war would, in all probability, have been speedily end-
ed ; but the lateness of the season, the insufficiency of the supplies ne-
cessary for the existence of the army, the want of adequate means of
transportation, the unknown and impracticable nature of the country,
together with the precipitate movement of Gen. Gaines from Tampa
Bay, all contributed to the failure which ensued. On the 5th of April
the three columns met at Tampa Bay, forced to come in by the want
of provisions.
After the failure of the great plan of the campaign, some minor ope-
rations were undertaken for the double purpose of exploring the coun-
try and encountering the hostile Indians ; but the approach of the sick-
ly season soon compelled the troops to go into quarters for the sum-
mer.
Though the campaign had failed, it was owing to causes over which
SCOTT had no control. The plan was not only feasible, but, in the
opinion of a competent judge, the only one which afforded a prospect
of success. " The only true plan of operations against them (the In-
dians) " writes Gen. Clinch on the 27th of April, after having forced
his way through the heart of the Indian country, " will be that first
assigned by you ; that is, a force from Peklekaha. a force ascending by
my route, and a corresponding one on the north side." But SCOTT
was convinced, from an examination of the country, that the war would
require a larger force, more extensive preparations, and a greater length
of time, than had hitherto been deemed necessary. " To end this war,"
writes he to the Secretary on the 30th of April, " I am now persuaded
that not less than three thousand good troops are indispensable ; two
thousand four hundred infantry, and six hundred horse ; the country to
be scoured and occupied requiring that number ;" together with these,
l- two or three steamers, with a light draft of water, and fifty or sixty
barges capable of carrying from ten to fifteen men each. I have
no desire," continued he, " to conduct the operations of the new forces ;
that is an honor which I shall neither solicit nor decline." These esti-
mates wereat the time the subject of much invidious remark ; but experi-
ence has proved the justice of the calculations and observations on
which they are founded.
Upon the army's retiring into summer quarters, the hostile Indians
again renewed their predatory excursions ; and the inhabitants of Flo-
rida, who had suddenly passed from too great a contempt for the
enemy to a terror as groundless, loudly complained of the defenceless
condition of the frontier ; and the public papers of that section of the
12
WINPIELD SCOTT.
country animadverted in the severest terras upon the measures of the
commaiidjiig Gonoral. But just recovering from an illness, induced
by his exertions and by the unhealthiness of the climate, and with
evidence before him of the extent to which the panic had spread among
the Floridians, SCOTT, in his general orders of May 17th, spoke of it
openly and severely ; and this, of course, did not tend to allay the dis-
content.
In the beginning of the summer the disturbances among the Creek
Indians called SCOTT to Georgia to direct in person the operations ne-
cessary for their subjugation. The Indians here were not favored to
the same extent as the Seminolesby the nature of the country ; in a
short time they were compelled to submit, and the war was terminat-
ed. Unfortunately, however, a misunderstanding had occurred be-
tween Gen. SCOTT and Gen. Jessup, who had served under him with
so much distinction at Chippewa and Bridgewater. SCOTT having
complained of Gen. .fessup's disobedience of orders, that gentleman, in-
stead of openly demanding an investigation, in a private letter to Mr.
Blair, the editor of the Globe newspaper, attacked the plans and con-
duct of Gen. SCOTT, requesting, at the same time, that the letter should
be shown to the President. In consequence, on the 9th of July, SCOTT
was recalled. The General proceeded immediately to Washington to
demand a court of inquiry upon his conduct during the war ; and on
the 3d of October, a court, composed of Maj. Gen. Macomb and Brig.
Generals Atkinson and Brady, were directed to assemble at Frederick,
in Maryland. After a long delay, occasioned, in a great measure, by
the difficuly of procuring the attendance of witnesses, many of whom
were engaged at the seat of war, and after a speech by Gen. SCOTT, re-
markable alike for its clear arrangement, its close reasoning, and trium-
phant vindication of his course, the court unanimously agreed in ap-
proving of his plan of the Seminole campaign as well "devised, and pro-
secuted with energy, steadiness, and ability ;" while, with regard to
the Creek war, they state " the plan of campaign, as adopted by Maj.
Gen. SCOTT, was well calculated to lead to successful results ; and that
it was prosecuted by him, as far as practicable, with zeal and ability
until he was recalled from the command.
Upon the breaking out of the disturbances upon the Canadian fron-
tier durinorthe winter of 1837-8, the services Gen. SCOTT were again put
in requisition. We all remember that the excitement and ill-feeling,
growing out of the rebellion in Canada, had nearly produced open hos-
tilities, at a time when the United States had not a soldier upon the
lines to cause their neutrality to be respected. The circumstances de-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
manded a rare union of firmness and moderation, of courage and of
coolness, of vigorous decision, and of a spirit of conciliation. These
qualities were found united in Gen. SCOTT. In the course of a short
time the excitement was allayed, and all danger of serious collision re-
moved.
At present Gen. SCOTT is engaged in enforcing and superintending
the removal of the Cherokees. In this unpleasant office, the same
union of energy, courage, and moderation, by which his character is
marked, has enabled him thus far to command the respect, at the same
time that he has won the good-will, of the Indians. He has at once en-
forced the command of his country, and obtained the removal of an an-
cient people from the lands long inhabited by themselves and their an-
cestors, without violence, and, we believe, without irritation.
On the llth of March, 1817, Gen. SCOTT was married to Miss Ma-
ria Mayo, daughter of Col. Mayo.
After the preceding narrative, we need not enter upon any detailed
account of the character of Gen. SCOTT. Its prominent traits are such
as must always mark the eminent commander — a union of strong in-
tellect with energy, resolution, and determined courage. On the field
of battle, his indifference to danger has amounted to rashness ; but his
bravery was ever untinged by ferocity. Independently of the actions
in which he has been engaged, his scientific knowledge of his profes-
sion is manifested by the Manual of Infantry Tactics ; which, in con-
formity with a resolution of the House of Representatives, he prepared
for the information and government of the army, — a work alike remark-
able for the minuteness of its details, and for the clear and simple man-
ner in which they are conveyed. The numerous and complicated
evolutions of the modern art of war, detailed in language so perspicu-
ous as to be comprehensible by the unprofessional reader, while the pro-
fessional merits of the book have been pronounced by competent
judges to be of the highest order. Gen. SCOTT is intimately and cri-
tically acquainted with the literature of his own language ; and his of-
ficial letters, and the pamphlets of which he is the author, show him
to be possessed of a style, flowing, correct and elegant. Though now
in the fifty-fourth year of his age, he retains, to a remarkable degree,
the vigor and buoyancy of youth ; and should our country again be
unfortunately involved in a general war, all eyes would be directed to
SCOTT as the first of that gallant band upon whom would depend the
honor and success of our arms.
u
THE NEW TOP R-
ASTOR,
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
THERE is one species of ancestral pride which the sternest republi-
canism, in its most jealous mood, regards with favor. We refer to
that spirit which, in Rome, devoted particular families, through
many generations, to the republic, and which impelled the second
Brutus, after the lapse of centuries, to emulate the glory of the first.
The heritage which consists in hoarded examples of lofty patriotism
inspires every motive to excellence. Its only privilege is the ne-
cessity of extraordinary exertion and superior worth ; and, while it
borrows from affection, emulation, and pride, the strongest stimu-
lants to virtuous action, it surrounds those who are subject to it by
all the influences which enlarge and fortify the moral and intellec-
tual character. Few men, in any country, have been, from birth,
association, and education, more exposed to these kindling and
patriotic influences than the subject of this brief memoir. His an-
cestors came to the country with William Penn, and participated in
all the privations of the early settlers. Through the long series of
contentions between the people of the province and the proprietary
government, they were ranged on the side of the people ; and
when the war of the Revolution broke out, the whole family was
distinguished in its zealous and heroic espousal of the cause of in-
dependence. Then, as in the late war, the entire family was given
to the country, and its members were signalized by their services
in the council, in the field, and on the wave. Charles Biddle, the
father of NICHOLAS BIDDLE, was, throughout the contest, eminent
for his active services and firm devotion to the cause; and, at the
time of the birth of the latter, was vice-president of the com-
monwealth, of which Benjamin Franklin was president, and, we
believe, John Armstrong, late minister to France, secretary ; a fact
which sufficiently indicates the high place which he had secured
in the confidence and respect of his country. The following pas-
sage of a familiar and private letter from Charles Biddle, to be
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
found in the second volume of Davis' Life of Burr, gives an inter-
esting anecdote of the times, and exhibits the heroism and patriotic
devotion which inspired even the females of the family. " I remem-
ber," says Charles Biddle, "just before the commencement of the
revolutionary war, my mother was disputing with an English officer.
He said the Americans, of right, should not go to war ; they could
do nothing ; they could get no person to head them. She replied
that the Americans would have no difficulty in finding some person
to command their army; that she had seven sons, and, if necessary,
would lead them herself to oppose the enemy. Two of her sons
fell during the war in the service of the country. I, too, have seven
sons whom I would much sooner lead to the field than suffer our
country to be insulted." The patriotic aspirations of the father
were not disappointed, for he did live to see that when their insulted
country called upon his sons, every one of the seven was found at
his post.
Edward Biddle, uncle of the subject of this notice, served as a
captain in the sanguinary war of 1756. He, too, was among the
foremost advocates of independence, and was elected a representa-
tive from Pennsylvania to the congress of 1774. He was afterwards
speaker of the house of representatives of Pennsylvania ; but the
decline of his health rendered a residence in the South necessary,
and on his way thither, death closed a career honorable to himself
and to his country. Nicholas Biddle, another uncle, was a midship-
man in the British navy, and accompanied Lord Mulgrave in his
expedition to the North Pole. But, with the characteristic spirit
of the family, when the revolutionary struggle commenced, he
broke through the influence of professional association, and aban-
doned the brilliant promises of the British service to share the
doubtful fortunes of his country. He entered the American navy,
and the government, discerning his merit, gave him all that he re-
quired— the opportunity to win distinction. His brief career is in-
terwoven with one of the proudest incidents of our history, and
while the American navy floats upon the wave will be remembered
by the nation with wonder and exultation. While commanding the
American frigate Randolph of thirty-two guns, he attacked, in the
night, the Yarmouth, a British sixty-four gun ship. He was wound-
ed early in the action, but refusing to go below had a chair placed
on the quarter deck, from which, with undaunted spirit, he directed
the engagement ; when, in the midst of it, from some accident in the
magazine of the Randolph herself, she blew up, and all the officers
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
and crew, except three men, perished. Nothing could be more
glorious than such a life— but such a death.
NICHOLAS BIDDLE, was born at Philadelphia, on the 8th day of
January, 1786. He began his education at the academy, whence
he was introduced to the University of Pennsylvania, and passing
through its successive probations, was about to take his degree in
1799, when his extreme youth, being then only thirteen years of age,
occasioned his being sent to Princeton, in New Jersey. He is de-
scribed by those who knew him at this period, as a thoughtful and
severe student and a youth of dauntless and indomitable spirit. A
classmate and companion, since a distinguished citizen, says of Mr.
B., "I enjoyed an intimacy with him at that time, which gave
me full opportunity of forming a judgment of his abilities, and I
have a distinct recollection of having made up my mind that he
was destined to be a great man."
Young BIDDLE remained at Princeton two years and a half, and
graduated in September, 1S01. His collegiate course was brilliant
almost beyond parallel, and prepared those who witnessed it, com-
prising several who have since become ornaments of the republic,
for the subsequent and loftier triumphs of his intellect. His stand-
ing and scholarship are shown by the fact that, though the youngest
person, it is understood, that ever graduated before or since that
time in the college, he and Mr. Edward Watts of Virginia, a gen-
tleman very much his senior, divided the first honor of the class, the
valedictory being assigned to Mr. BIDDLE.
On leaving college, he commenced the study of the law in Phila-
delphia. About this time his abilities attracted the attention and
excited the admiration of one of the most remarkable judges of
human nature which our country has afforded, Colonel Burr, who
predicted for him a career of eminent usefulness and honor. In a
letter written, on the eve of his meeting with Hamilton, to his son-
in-law, Governor Alston, and containing what were supposed to be
his last injunctions, the following singular and prophetic passage
occurs : " My worthy friend, Charles Biddle of Philadelphia, has six
or seven sons — three of them grown up. With different characters
and various degrees of intelligence, they will all be men of eminence
and of influence."
When the three years of Mr. BIDDLE'S term of study were about
to expire, General Armstrong was appointed minister of the United
States to France, and offered to take the son of his old friend with
him as secretary. He accordingly embarked in the year 1804, and
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
spent the three succeeding years in Europe. The period of his re-
sidence in France was one of extraordinary interest, not merely from
its embracing the career of Napoleon from his coronation, but from
the complicated relations between the United States and France,
and especially from the examination and payment in detail of the
claims of this country on France, which were paid out of the pur-
chase money for Louisiana. This duty devolved almost exclusively
upon the young secretary. The payments were made at the French
bureau, and Mr. BIDDLE, with untiring assiduity, attended to the
disbursement. The officers of the French government are mostly
gentlemen of ripe years; Mr. BIDDLE, then about eighteen, was
even more juvenile in appearance than years, and the advent among
these grave dignitaries of this youthful depository of so important
a trust was viewed with a wonder that was increased when they
found him performing his arduous duties with the ability, firmness,
and perseverance of a veteran statesman. Notwithstanding the
severe labors of his office, Mr. BIDDLE found time to indulge a
liberal curiosity in regard to all the great objects before him, and
also to attend the scientific lectures so frequent and accessible in
Paris. After leaving the legation he travelled through the greater
part of France, through Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Germany, Bel-
gium, and Holland. He then went to England, where he joined
the late president Monroe, then American minister in London, with
whom he served as secretary, Mr. Monroe's own secretary being
absent. During his residence in England, an incident occurred
which Mr. Monroe took great pleasure in relating, as an illustration
of the ripe scholarship of his youthful secretary and friend. Mr.
BIDDLE accompanied him to Cambridge, where, in a company at
which the most learned gentlemen connected with the university were
present, a discussion took place on some philological point arising
from the difference between the Greek of Homer and the idiom of
the modern Hellenes. Though familiar with the language of Homer,
the literati present knew but little of the modem Greek, and the
difficulty remained unsolved; when Mr. BIDDLE, who united to
his classic accomplishments a knowledge of the tongue of modern
Greece acquired when in that country, joined the conversation and
explained the point, exhibiting a knowledge of the subject so pro-
found and critical, that the learned gentlemen present listened in
silent amazement, while Monroe, overjoyed at what he considered
a kind of American triumph, with difficulty repressed his exultation
and delight.
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
Mr. BIDDLE returned home in the autumn of 1807. During his
long absence, he had seen much of men and things, and seen them
in a way the most profitable. The ordinary routine of what is called
travelling, the indiscriminate hurrying after objects of mere curiosity,
though pleasant while it lasts, is not often productive of good to
young persons. Mr. BIDDLE had a point of support, an object, an
employment, and that employment was in the service of his country.
Nothing so effectually subdues the spirit of party and removes the
prejudice which confines the anxieties of patriotism to one-half the
country, as a residence abroad in a public character; a position that
identifies the individual with the whole nation. It is, perhaps, this
experience that has given to Mr. BIDDLE'S mind a character so
wholly national, for few men have brought into the public councils
a spirit more expanded, a patriotism more comprehensive or more
free from all tincture of local or sectional feeling.
On his return he commenced the practice of the law. In the
fragments of time saved from more severe pursuits, he occasionally
relaxed his mind in contributions to the scientific and literary period-
icals of the day. His efforts were as diversified as literature itself,
and exhibit that elasticity of mind and versatility of genius which
have rendered his various subsequent productions so successful.
His disquisitions on the Fine Arts, published about this time, dis-
played a profound knowledge of the subject, and acquired a repu-
tation which no one who now peruses them will consider unmerited.
His writings at this period are graceful and polished. Indeed, seve-
ral of these early efforts have been, and are even now. ascribed to
the elegant Dennie ; but his articles manifest an originality and vigor,
a reach of thought and a variety of acquirement which Dennie did
not possess. Their mutual friendship induced them to form a
literary partnership for conducting the Port Folio. The death,
however, of Mr. Dennie, which occurred soon after the association
was formed, removed its principal attraction ; but Mr. BIDDLE con-
tinued to conduct it alone for some time, until another editor was
procured. Of the merits of the Port Folio, it is unnecessary to
speak; it now constitutes a part of the literature of the country-
a part that will not be discredited by a comparison with any thing
that has since been given to the public. About this period, Lewis
and Clarke were preparing for publication the history of their expe-
dition across the continent of America; but the premature death
of Lewis induced his companion, Clarke, to solicit Mr. BIDDLE to
edit the work. He accordingly went carefully over the materials
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
afforded by the notes of the expedition, and received from Mr. Clarke
a large mass of additional information, which he worked up, with
great skill and ability, furnishing one of the most valuable and
pleasant productions of that character which has fallen from the
press. He also induced Mr. Jefferson to prepare the memoir of
Captain Lewis prefixed to the work. The whole was ready for
publication, when Mr. BIDDLE'S public engagements rendered it
impossible to attend to its passage through the press, and he there-
fore transferred the work, with all the compensation stipulated for
it, to Mr. Paul Allen. Mr. Allen piloted it through the press, and
his name is naturally affixed to it; but as a matter of literary history,
it is a subject of curiosity to know that these two octavo volumes,
" The Travels of Lewis and Clarke," were written by Mr. BIDDLE.
The engagements referred to were political. He was chosen one
of the representatives of the city of Philadelphia in the state legis-
lature, in which capacity he passed, at Lancaster, the winter of
1810 — 11. In this new sphere he at once assumed a commanding
position, and proved himself a statesman of enlarged views and lofty
principles. He manifested, from the start, that which peculiarly
distinguishes the patriot statesman from the mere politician — the
genius to originate great measures for the advancement of the public
interests. The measures brought before the legislature by Mr.
BIDDLE have since been made familiar to the public, but they were
then new and startling innovations. The statesman who projected
them did not light his torch at the blaze of public opinion, but relied
upon his own intellect and the hope of illuminating the community.
The enterprise demanded a quarter of a century for its consumma-
tion ; but not the less praise is due to him who, unaided and un-
cheered, ventured upon the sea. The first measure of this character
undertaken by Mr. BIDDLE was the establishment of a system of
popular education. From conviction and feeling an ardent repub-
lican, he sought, by the diffusion of popular intelligence, to expand
and vindicate the democratic principle. He, therefore, brought the
project before the legislature, and labored energetically in its sup-
port. He made an elaborate and eloquent report, and introduced
a school bill, the basis of which was, not a gratuitous but a very
cheap system of public instruction. He urged the scheme with zeal
and power ; but he was before the age. The state was not pre-
pared for such novelties. The glory of carrying out these princi-
ples belongs to the present generation; the school law of 1836
being only the ripe fruit of Mr. BIDDLE'S bill of 1811. But those
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
who rejoice most in their triumph will accord to NICHOLAS BIDDLE
the credit of being the father of the system of popular instruction
in Pennsylvania.
Mr. BIDDLE 's attention was also directed to the commencement
of a vigorous system of internal improvement.
But a measure of more general interest, and which occupied the
attention of the union at large, drew upon the youthful statesman
the eyes of the whole nation. The charter of the bank of the
United States expired in 1811; and the question of its recharter was
then agitated with as much violence as the same subject has, in
later days, excited. Among the modes of opposition practised by
the enemies of the bank, one was to procure instructions from the
legislature to the members of congress from Pennsylvania to vote
against the recharter. A resolution of this character was introduced,
and it was in opposition to that resolution that Mr. BIDDLE made
his first speech. The speech produced a great sensation at the time,
and established the reputation of its author. It is remarkable not
only for its power and the soundness of its general principles, but
from the strange coincidence that he should begin his career by a
prophetic warning of the evil consequences of the destruction of the
bank ; that those evils should have actually occurred ; that the list-
eners to that warning, convinced by melancholy experience of their
error, should, when afterwards transferred to Washington, have
been the chief promoters of the charter of a new bank; and, finally,
that this very youth should become the head of that bank, and in
that capacity, vindicating his early positions, should acquire for
himself and the institution a credit throughout the commercial
world, of which the history of the country furnishes no parallel. It
is no less remarkable that although the question was then wholly
new, not having yet been discussed in congress or elsewhere, the
speech of Mr. BIDDLE embodies, in a condensed form, almost every
thing — the leading principles and general facts — which has been since
developed in the multitudinous discussions that have succeeded.
The speech itself elicited universal applause, and received, what is
more valuable than any general praise, the most decided eulogium
from the late Chief Justice Marshall. It was circulated generally,
and eagerly read, and did much to extend and establish the reputa-
tion of its author in all sections of the union.
At the close of the session he declined a reelection, and retired
from public life, dividing his time between his studies, which were
always pursued with the most vigorous diligence, and agriculture,
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
for which he has manifested, throughout life, a decided predilection.
These pursuits were, however, soon interrupted by the events of
the war, which summoned into action the best spirits of the nation.
In the year IS 14, the situation of the country was extremely critical.
The capitol had been destroyed, the whole south was menaced by
a flushed and insolent foe, the finances were in extreme disorder,
and every thing indicated despondency and distress. These were
not limes when a Biddle could enjoy retirement and inaction. He
was elected to represent the city and county of Philadelphia in the
senate of Pennsylvania, by a vote considerably beyond that of any
party for the legislature or congress. Of the spirit which he carried
into the public councils, some idea may be formed from the fact,
that of the seven brothers composing his family, one was an officer
in the navy, (Commodore James Biddle,) two were in the regular
army, and three were volunteers in active service in the militia,
while he, the seventh, was in the senate. As soon as it was appa-
rent that no reliance could be placed on congress, he came forward
in the senate with his own plans of defence. " It is now." said he,
" nearly four months since the eyes of this nation have anxiously
watched the movements of congress. They found the capitol in
ruins — the finances prostrate — the army, in every thing but its
honor, a shadow — the whole coast menaced with invasion — no
hopes of peace but by the sword. These things might have kindled
into energy the dullest statesman; yet day after day has been wasted
in frivolous debate or bitter controversies — and now neither men
nor money, nor preparations for defence, nor means of carrying on
the war, seem to be expected from that congress which was con-
vened for the express purpose of providing them. It is time, there-
fore, for Pennsylvania to defend herself, to indulge no longer in this
fatal confidence, but at once look all our dangers in the face and
prepare to repel them."
He then presented a system which consisted of a bounty for sailors
to man the floating batteries for the defence of Philadelphia, the
purchase of arms, the levy of a permanent military force of eight
thousand men, and a loan on the credit of the state to defray the
expense of these measures. All these provisions were adopted by
the senate ; but, in the house of representatives, the army bill was
lost from a difference of opinion as to the mode of raising the neces-
sary force. It was immediately revived in the senate, and that body
was actually engaged in discussing it, when the debate was sud-
denly terminated by the arrival of the glad tidings that the war was
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
at an end. All the measures for the defence of Pennsylvania were
proposed by Mr. BIDDLE ; and those who witnessed the crisis will
not forget the patriotic energy with which he met the emergency.
The return of peace left to the legislature only one duty to the
other states, that of quieting the political distractions which had
grown out of the war. In the midst of that conflict, the New Eng-
land states, chafed by what they deemed wrongs to their peculiar
interests, met in convention at Hartford and proposed to all the
other states radical changes in the constitution of the union. This
abandonment of their own work, this declaration of the weakness
and insufficiency of that constitution which these New England
states had been the foremost to adopt, was of such evil example,
that it was justly deemed of great importance to counteract its in-
fluence. The other states had given cold or contumelious negatives
to this proposal, calculated only to harden the prejudices they could
not subdue. It was thought far better to address the reason of the
country, to interpose between the combatants the quiet energy of
Pennsylvania, which had no object to gain but the general good of
the union, and endeavor to satisfy the country that the constitution
was not the weak and impotent federation which these reformers
pronounced it, but that it was a just and generous compact which
could be only injured by the proposed attempts to improve it. For
this purpose Mr. BIDDLE prepared, and the legislature adopted, a
report which was considered as the answer of Pennsylvania to the
Hartford convention. This production was worthy the occasion and
the exalted purpose for which it was intended. It bears the impress
of genius, and stamps its author as a statesman. The report did
not fail to produce a deep impression not only in this country but
abroad, as being not merely a refutation of the proposed amend-
ments, but a thorough and masterly vindication of the institutions
of the United States. One of the most distinguished political writers
of England said of it on its first appearance : " With the exception
of the poems of Pope, I never read any thing of which I should so
much like to have been the author as this answer of the state of
Pennsylvania. Let any man read this paper penned in one of the
state legislatures of America, and when he has compared it with the
state papers of our ambassadors and ministers, let him say whether
aristocracy has reserved itself a monopoly of talent." Mr. BIDDLE'S
report unquestionably does honor to his native state, and may be
regarded as one of the very best state papers which the political
controversies of our country have elicited. Even at this day, it may
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
be read with profit and interest, as presenting views of public policy
applicable to many of the political questions now agitating us.
In the year 1817, Mr. BIDDLE, after a legislative career which
exhibited a brilliant genius joined with an ardent devotion to the
public good, and which secured him the confidence of all parties,
voluntarily retired from the senate before the expiration of his term
of service, and resumed his private pursuits. He now devoted
himself with uninterrupted ardor to the studies from which his pub-
lic duties had partially alienated him. Despising the arts by which
demagogues urge themselves upon a reluctant people, he rather
shunned than courted political distinction. His distinguished merit,
however, could not be overlooked, and at the succeeding election,
1818, he was nominated to represent the city and county of Phila-
delphia in congress ; but the democratic party, of which he Avas a
candidate, was then in a minority, and although he received a larger
number of votes than any other candidate on the same ticket, the
adverse party prevailed. At the next congressional election in
1820, he was again nominated, by the same political party, but with
the same result, Mr. B. again receiving a larger vote than any of
his colleagues on the same ticket.
In the year 1819, he first became connected with the bank of the
United States, an incident which contributed to give a direction to
his subsequent career, and secured to the country the aid of his ex-
traordinary abilities in the important field of finance. The institu-
tion was at that time justly considered in great jeopardy. Its affairs
had been investigated by a committee of congress, and the report
of that committee tended to inspire distrust and apprehension. To
add to these difficulties, its president had resigned; and the position
and prospects of the bank became so critical, that the most vigorous
exertions were deemed necessary to revive the public confidence.
For this purpose, president Monroe, without the knowledge of Mr.
BIDDLE, nominated him as a director of the bank on the part of the
United States. This mark of confidence was not only unexpected,
but unwelcome to Mr. B., for he had previously declined being a
director on the part of the stockholders ; but thus summoned, by the
national executive, to what had become a serious and important
trust, he did not feel himself at liberty to decline the task. He ac-
cordingly took his place in the bank at the same time that Mr.
Langdon Cheves, who had been previously elected president, as-
sumed the duties of his station. In conjunction with that gentleman
he labored with great industry in arranging the affairs and esta-
10
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
blishing the character of the institution, and, having no special em-
ployment at the time, was enabled to turn into that channel the
almost undivided energies of his mind.
An active intellect, however, has, even amid the most engrossing
labors, leisure for incidental duties. Mr. BIDDLE 's energetic habits
enabled him, at the request of Mr. Monroe, to undertake and ac-
complish a work for which his varied acquirements peculiarly qua-
lified him. By a resolution of congress, the department of state was
authorized to collect the laws and regulations of all foreign countries
relative to commerce, moneys, weights, and measures, and the
various objects connected with trade. The duty was committed
by the president to Mr. BIDDLE, who analyzed and digested, with
great ability, a large mass of crude materials in various languages,
into an octavo volume entitled " Commercial Digest"
In the year 1821, he removed permanently to his farm in Bucks
comity. While residing there, the resignation of Mr. Cheves as
president of the United States Bank occasioned a general convention
at Philadelphia of all the stockholders of the bank throughout the
United States. The selection of a successor was regarded as a
matter of great delicacy and importance, not merely in relation to
the interests of the institution itself, but from its influence upon the
credit and commercial prosperity of the country at large. The sub-
ject was, therefore, anxiously canvassed as well in the public prints
as among the stockholders. The station called for commanding
abilities, a genius practical, fertile in resources, profoundly skilled
in finance, and versed in all the comprehensive and diversified inte-
rests connected with trade. Public opinion pointed to Mr. BIDDLE
as preeminently fitted for the arduous and momentous trust, and he
was accordingly invited to accept the presidency. The result elicited
general applause, and the government manifested its approbation
of the choice by appointing Mr. B. a director on the part of the
United States. He entered upon the duties of the office in January,
1823. His previous service of three years in the bank had made
him familiar with its concerns, and had given him some peculiar
views of its administration, which he now proceeded gradually and
cautiously to develope. The details of this subject belong to his-
tory, and cannot, of course, be given in the present brief and hur-
ried notice ; but the general purpose of the change of system may
be made intelligible in a few words. By the charter of the bank,
all its notes were made receivable in all payments to the govern-
ment. It was objected that as these notes were payable in so many
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
places, provision must be made to pay them in those places, so that
a greater amount of specie must be kept in reserve than the amount
of notes in circulation. Application was made to congress to alter
the charter so as to make the notes payable only where they were
issued, and it was declared by the bank to congress, that unless the
change were made, the bank would be not only useless but injurious.
With this view of the subject, there could, of course, be no general
circulation of its notes, no regulation of the domestic exchanges —
the whole amount of notes on the first of January, 1S23, being
about three and a half millions of dollars, and the amount of do-
mestic bills on hand less than two millions of dollars.
With these opinions Mr. Binn^r, did not at all concur. He thought
that the universal receivability of the notes, so far from being inju-
rious, was highly beneficial to the bank and to the country ; and that
there was no danger of issuing the notes, if the branches issuing
them were careful to provide funds for their redemption at the points
to which the well known course of trade would necessarily carry
them. He considered this very provision beneficial in another point
of view ; he believed that it would enable the bank, by the policy
just mentioned, to regulate the domestic exchanges and effect the
great object of its creation. Having matured the project in his own
mind, he proceeded to carry it out. Years of patient and anxious
labor, directed by the most vigilant sagacity, were necessary to bring
all the parts of this original and admirable system into full action.
That consummation was, however, at last attained, when, as in
1835, there had been established nine new branches, making the
whole consist of the bank at Philadelphia and tiventy-five branches;
sustaining a wholesome circulation of twenty-four millions, based
on twenty-four millions of current bills of exchange, with fifteen or
sixteen millions of specie.
The change thus gradually and quietly effected, was regarded
throughout the world as one of the miracles of genius. It bright-
ened the aspect of the whole country, and inspired health and ani-
mation in all the various pursuits of trade and industry. The effect
of Mr. BIDDLE'S system is thus explained by the report of the com-
mittee of ways and means of the house of representatives : "It may
be confidently asserted that no country in the world has a currency
of greater uniformity than the United States, and that no country
of any thing like the same geographical extent, has a currency at all
comparable to that of the United States on the score of uniformity ;"
and again : " It has actually furnished a circulating medium more
12
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
uniform than specie." The committee of finance of the senate
characterized with equal force the success of Mr. BIDDLE'S admi-
nistration. " This seems to present a state of currency approaching
as near to perfection as could be desired;" and again; "It is not
easy to imagine, it is scarcely necessary to desire, any currency
better than this."
During the whole of this period, the bank was an object of uni-
versal and deserved popularity. Applications were constantly made
for the establishment of its branches in every section of the country.
The institution was in perfect harmony with the administrations of
Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams, and pursued its noiseless career of
usefulness, praised and cherished by all classes and parties. Per-
haps not an individual in the country dreamed that it would or
could be made the subject of opposition.
It was during this career that General Jackson came into power.
One of the first measures of his administration was believed to be
an effort to connect the bank with his political support. The
attempt was full of danger to the country, and had the administra-
tion of the bank been in feeble or corrupt hands would doubtless
have succeeded. It was, however, immediately and decisively
repelled: but from that moment a war was waged against the
institution, which in intense exasperation can scarcely find a par-
allel in the history of civil dissension. Our limits will not permit us
even to refer to the details of that interesting struggle ; our present
purpose is to exhibit its effect upon the character of the president
of the bank. The position and popularity of the high functionary
who decreed the downfall of the institution were certainly formida-
ble ; but it was in the hands of one adequate to any emergency.
Mr. BIDDLE owed it to his country and to the institution over which
he presided to uphold it, and he did so ; not passively or with in-
decision, but with determined and active vigor. He manifested
throughout the series of extraordinary events which succeeded, a
firmness that never was shaken and a calmness that nothing could
ruffle. His skilful pilotage of the institution through that storm
displayed a mind rich in all that the crisis demanded ; composed,
but ardent ; prompr, but profound ; a genius so bold and compre-
hensive, a knowledge so vast, an experience so complete, a fertility
of resources so ready and inexhaustible, that we cannot be surprised
at the admiration which it everywhere inspired. The odds were
all against him in the contest, yet he was never found wanting, and
never placed in the wrong. His course won the applause of the
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
first spirits of the age in this country and Europe, and secured him
the confidence and gratitude not only of his constituents of the bank,
but of the business community at large. Mr. John Q. Adams, in
his report of 1832, speaks thus of the administration of Mr. BIDDLE.
" Ten years long has this confidence been enjoyed and justified by
that distinguished citizen and honorable man. No scruple has ever
crossed the mind of any president of the United States to deter him
from nominating him year after year as a government director.
Not a voice had ever been raised in the senate to cause their hesi-
tation to confirm his appointment ; and so perfectly in harmony
with this confidence was that of the public, that not a rumor has
ever been raised of the prospect or even of the project of the election
of any other person as president in his place."
The general results of the contest are well known. Mr. BIDDLE,
notwithstanding General Jackson's opposition, procured from con-
gress, by large majorities in both houses, a recharter of the bank in
1832. This act the president vetoed. From that time no further
application was made to congress; but, at the expiration of the charter
granted by the United States, a new charter was obtained from the
state of Pennsylvania for the same capital. The whole history of
these events is condensed in a few words in the address of Mr. BID-
DLE, in presenting this charter to the stockholders.
" I was about to ask leave to retire from your service, when an
unhappy controversy arose between the bank and one of its part-
ners, the government ; and I felt bound to stand by the bank while
its interests seemed in jeopardy. It was an original misfortune in
the structure of the bank, that it was in any way connected with
persons in office. The instincts of all political power make that as-
sociation dangerous — useful to neither party, injurious to both.
Accordingly I saw, or thought I saw, in our official associate a
design to subject to personal and political influences the movements
of the bank. I knew that such a purpose, if defeated, might destroy
the bank, but, if successful, would make it not worth preserving ;
and that it was better for the bank, and far better for the free insti-
tutions of the country, that the bank should perish in that struggle,
rather than prolong its existence by surviving its independence.
My effort then, was, at all times, and at all hazards, to maintain the
rights of the institution, respectfully, fearlessly, calmly ; yielding
nothing to the madness of popular delusion, compromising nothing
with official power. How that strife was conducted you all know
— how it has ended is proved by the events of this day, which ren-
14
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
der the banK safer, stronger, and more prosperous than it ever was.
Of that unfortunate associate I desire to speak with all gentleness
and forbearance, nor will I mar the pleasures of this meeting by any
recurrence to the past. He will soon leave us. He will carry away
not only a just, but a generous portion of our earnings ; but then he
will depart in peace — forgiven and forgotten."
These more important and engrossing avocations did not prevent
him from engaging in other duties, which he found, we can scarcely
imagine how, time to fulfil. No measure for the advancement of
learning and the arts, no scheme for the public good, no effort of
patriotism or humanity has wanted his generous and hearty support.
He is an active member of a great number of societies for benevolent
and useful purposes. As president of the Agricultural Society of
Philadelphia he has, by his zeal, practical knowledge, and high ex-
ample, done much to promote the farming interests of the state. He
is himself ra successful agriculturist ; and the products of his farm
have, in market, as well as the horticultural exhibitions at the city,
been, for years, objects of curiosity and commendation. As presi-
dent of the Girard College, his exertions have manifested an intense
interest in the cause of popular instruction, and have contributed
mainly to the organization of that noble institution upon safe and
expanded principles. To his exertions alone the country owes one
of the most beautiful structures of modern times — the Girard College.
Mr. BIDDLE, in the spirit of Pericles, determined that the structure
should be built for posterity. He proposed the present plan, and, in
the midst of wild political excitement and opposition, persisted firmly,
and secured a building which every citizen now not only approves
but applauds, and which will, hereafter, be the architectural boast of
the country. While on this subject we may add, that the building
which next to the Girard College is perhaps the noblest triumph of
architecture in the land, the United States Bank, was also erected
under the superintendence of Mr. BIDDLE, as chairman of the build-
ing committee of that institution. This interest in all the arts which
adorn and dignify social existence, united, as it is, with a stern de-
votion to the harsher philosophy of practical life, is a peculiarity of
Mr. BIDDLE'S character.
We shall here close what concerns the public career of Mr. BID-
DLE, of which we purposed to give only a general outline, and,
having already transcended our limits, will add only a few words
touching those miscellaneous particulars which may interest our
readers.
15
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
In the course of his career, he has, on various occasions, appeared
before the public as a writer. Though these effusions, with the
exception of his juvenile efforts, have been extorted from him amid
the clash and bustle of laborious and often momentous duties, yet
he who peruses them cannot repress a sentiment of regret that Mr.
BIDDLE had not been devoted to literature alone. His speeches in
the. legislature were reprinted and praised in all parts of the union.
His eulogium on Thomas Jefferson, delivered before the Philoso-
phical Society, of which he is a member, is considered the best pro-
nounced on that occasion, though the subject engaged the first
intellects of the country. The oration on agriculture, delivered by
him before the Agricultural Society, unites practical instruction with
classic learning and eloquence. The closing passage, especially, is
of surpassing excellence. His address before the Alumni Association
of Nassau Hall is of a still higher order of merit. It points out the
public duties of an American, and never were the high privileges
and responsibilities of a freeman so well portrayed. His own lofty
and unshackled spirit breathes and burns in every period. He en-
joins with earnest and kindling eloquence the learning, labor, and
elevation of spirit which honest public life requires, and holds up to
scorn the unworthy parasites of the populace. After referring to
the patriots of other ages and countries, he says: "Trained by these
studies and animated by the habitual contemplation of those who
have gone before you, as a true American statesman, you may lay
your hand on your country's altar. From that hour, swerved by
no sinister purpose, swayed by no selfish motive, your whole heart
must be devoted to her happiness and her glory. No country could
be worthier a statesman's care. On none has nature lavished more
of the materials of happiness and of greatness ; as fatal if they are
misdirected, as they must be glorious when rightly used. On the
American statesman, then, devolves the solemn charge of sustaining
its institutions against temporary excesses, either of the people or
their rulers ; and protecting them from their greatest foes, which
will always lie in their own bosom. You can accomplish this only
by persevering in your own independence — by doing your duty
fearlessly to the country. If you fail to please her, do not the less
serve her, for she is not the less your country." Were the states-
men of our country guided by the following high and heroic prin-
ciples, our republic would be immortal : " Never let any action of
your life be influenced by the desire of obtaining popular applause
at the expense of your own sincere and manly convictions. No
16
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
favor from any sovereign, a single individual, or thirteen millions,
can console you for the loss of your own esteem. If they are of-
fended, trust to their returning reason to do you justice, and should
that hope fail, where you cannot serve with honor you can retire
with dignity. You did not seek power, and you can readily leave
it, since you are qualified for retirement, and since you carry into it
the proud consolation of having done your duty." Mr. BIDDLE'S
style is formed on the purest models. He has cultivated with great
success the power of saying the most things in the fewest words.
Condensation, point, and originality, are his peculiarities. His
thoughts do not struggle in a deluge of words, and are not expressed
in the swollen diction which he has felicitously characterized as " our
western orientalism" His manner, however, is not only classic in
its simplicity; it is breathing and quick with life ; his sentences are
exquisitely turned, and modulated with a delicate perception of
melody.
Though Mr. BIDDLE, when in public life, won distinction as a
speaker, his pursuits have for many years withdrawn him from the
forum. He has, however, been called upon, on various occasions,
to address large and enlightened audiences, and always with signal
success. His elocution is exceedingly graceful and polished. He
is free from the extravagances of American oratory, and furnishes a
model of strength without violence, and grace devoid of affectation.
His diction is fluent, choice, and fervid, and his general style bold
and effective. He is fortunate in possessing a voice singularly deep
and clear, and which enables him, without apparent effort, to give
the greatest effect to all that he utters.
The present is not the period when Mr. BIDDLE'S character can
be faithfully and aptly drawn ; there are, however, prominent fea-
tures in his moral portrait recognised by all, and in which it is im-
possible to be mistaken. The first of these is that high order of
courage, which, after having marked out a course, never refers to con-
sequences. The second is perhaps that elastic activity which is never
for a moment sluggish or depressed — an activity not variable, fitful,
or feverish, but which is the result of inborn strength, and is steady
and unflagging. Let us add to these moral traits a composure and
self-possession, which, under all circumstances, enable him to exert
every faculty and direct every resource, at the right time and in the
right way. We have been assured that, throughout his long con-
nexion with the bank, the exciting occurrences which transpired
never betrayed him into an exhibition of weakness or irritation.
17
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Yet no one deems him passionless ; excitement, with him, instead
of exhausting itself in feeble outbursts, is turned into action and gives
energy and power to the machinery of the mind. These moral
qualities, united to an intellect of the highest order, impart a force
of character that has never failed in the attainment of its results.
His character is formed for great trusts and great emergencies.
Like Napoleon, he borrows no resources ; he makes systems for him-
self, and finds for the greatest difficulty a greater energy to overcome
it. The ruling feature of his intellect is pervading, comprehensive,
vigorous common sense ; a sagacity, that while it expands to the
grandest outlines, is not too ponderous to grasp the smallest details;
a power that disenchants and simplifies the most abstruse science,
and throws the glare of day upon the recesses of a subject, where
others grope and stagger, as if stricken with mental blindness. It
is this faculty that has enabled him, for so many years, to control
with salutary sway the "vasty deep" of finance. In every depart-
ment of intellectual exertion he has the advantage of rare and ac-
complished scholarship. He has been, throughout his career, even
Avhen most burthened with business, a close student, and has pre-
served, amid all the trials of a working-day life, his early fondness
for literature and the fine arts. His manners are kind and polished,
and his conversation unaffected and eloquent. His elegant taste and
accomplished scholarship have made him the centre and ornament
of the literary circles of the city of his birth; and the fervid kindness
of his nature has secured the sincere and affectionate friendship of
those whose admiration was first excited by the elegance of his wit
and the charms of his social intercourse. Mr. BIDDLE is somewhat
above the middle stature ; his forehead is remarkably high and
ample, and his eyes are blue and piercing. His countenance does
not wear the ascetic cast generally contracted by long-continued and
severe mental exertion, but is frank and cheerful, expressive of
amiable and generous feeling. Many busts and paintings of Mr.
BIDDLE have been taken of various degrees of merit. The portrait
of Rembrandt Peale, from which is taken the engraving prefixed to
this notice, is preferred : we would consider ourselves fortunate
could we portray with equal fidelity the features of his mind.
Ars utinam mores animumque cffingere posset;
Pulchrior in terris nulla tabella foret.
Mr. BIDDLE was married in 1811, and has six children. In the
domestic and social relations of life he is highly felicitous. No one
18
NICHOLAS BIDDLE.
has more friends, or friends more devoted to him. We may add
that no one has encountered more enmity. There are times when
even the virtues of a man provoke hostility, as Tacitus has expressed
it, nee minus periculum ex magna fama, quam ex mala : few
have realized this danger more than he, none have more calmly dis-
regarded it. Though bitterly assailed, he has left his conduct to
vindicate itself. He has never stooped to conciliate power or
soften opposition. His rectitude is based upon principle not opinion,
and seeks his own praise careless of that of others ; his patriotism
does not throb only in the sunshine of the hour — its aspirations are
for posterity, not party; for ages, not years.
" Stand free and fast,
And judge him by no more than what you know
Ingenuously, and by the right laid line
Of truth, he truly will all styles deserve
Of wise, just, good ; a man. both soul and nerve"
R. T. C.
19
WILLIAM H. CEAWFORD.
WILLIAM HARRIS CRAWFORD was born in Nelson County, Vir-
ginia, 24th February, 1772. In 1779, his father, Joel Crawford, re-
moved with his family to Stevens' Creek, Edgefield District, South
Carolina, about thirty miles above Augusta. The next winter, the
British troops having- taken Savannah and Augusta, Mr. Crawford
returned north over Broad River, into Chester District. Soon after
South Carolina was overrun by the British, he was seized and thrown
into Camden jail as a rebel. Here he remained the greater part of the
summer, and was released on some of his neighbors becoming his se-
curity. In 1783 he removed into Georgia, and settled on Kiokee
Creek, Columbia County.
The disturbances of the country had an unfavorable influence upon
its schools. The advantages for educating its youth were at best
very meagre. Young CRAWFORD went to school a few months while
his parents resided in South Carolina, and discovered such capacity
for receiving instruction, as determined his father, when permanently
settled in Georgia, to send him to Scotland, and mve him a thorough
O ' ' O c^
education. He made arrangements with a Scotch merchant in Au-
gusta, for supplying his son with funds during his residence at the
University ; but the merchant, in a fit of derangement, having at-
tempted to cut his own throat, Mr. Crawford thought it unsafe to en-
trust him with funds and with the superintendence of his son. Hav-
ing abandoned the idea of sending him abroad, he put him to school
in the country, and gave him the best English education he could, and
in 1788 set him to teaching school. Before this year expired, his
father died, and the disease then prevalent in the country (probably
small-pox) swept away most of the valuable servants of the family,
and reduced them to very narrow circumstances. To aid his mother
in supporting a large and almost helpless family, young CRAWFORD
taught school, more or less, for three or four years. In 1794 the Re-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
verend Dr. Waddel opened a Latin school in Columbia, called Car-
mel Academy. The desire of obtaining a classical education, which
had been lost sight of since his father's death, now revived, and Mr.
CRAWFORD entered the Academy, and remained in it two years, study-
ing the usual Latin and Greek authors, philosophy, and the French
language. The last year he was usher in the school, and received
for his services one third of the tuition money. In this situation he
remained until April 1796, and made the best possible use of his op-
portunities. In that month, this obscure usher, not dreaming of poli-
tics, but still anxious to increase his stock of useful learning, with a
hope finally to obtain a profession, bent his way to Augusta, there to
fling himself in the way of fortune's gambols, and to receive whatever
the sportings of her fancy might turn up to an unknown but bold
adventurer. His means were, however, perfectly inadequate to the
objects he had in view. He obtained a situation in the Richmond
Academy, where he remained in the double character of student and
instructor until the year 1798, when he was appointed Rector of that
institution. During his residence in Augusta he studied law, to the
practice of which he was admitted in the course of that year. He
was a self-taught law scholar. It may be remarked, that while he was
engaged in his scholastic and professional studies, he supported a cha-
racter for the most exemplary morality and prudence, and was a most
indefatigable, close, and laborious student.
Mr. CRAWFORD was a man considerably above ordinary height,
large, muscular, and well-proportioned. His head and face were re-
markably striking, and impressed the beholder at once with the belief
that he must possess more than ordinary powers of intellect. His
complexion was fair, and, until late in life, ruddy. His features were
strong and regular. When at rest, they indicated great firmness and
perseverance of character. When he smiled, an engaging benignity
overspread his whole countenance. His eyes, before they were af-
fected by his protracted illness at Washington, were clear blue, mild,
though radiant. Those who never made his acquaintance until his
return to Georgia, will be apt to consider this description of his per-
son overwrought, while those who knew him in the prime of life will
hardly think it does him justice. His deportment was affable, his step
firm, his gait erect and manly, but not ostentatious, indicating courage
and independence.
His manners, though free from stiffness and hauteur, were never
very graceful. They were such, however, as to make all about him
feel easy. There was in him a certain consciousness of superiormindj
WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD.
as has been said of another, which could not always be repressed nor
withdrawn from observation. He was at all times a man of decided
feelings — warm in his attachments, and vehement in his resentments.
He was prompt to repel insults, and equally prompt to forgive when-
ever an appeal was made to his clemency. No personal labor was
too great to be endured, if by it he could elevate modest merit from
poverty to comfort, or advance the interests and honor of his friends.
No child of distress ever made an unsuccessful appeal to his charity.
His rule was to give something in every case, but to regulate the
amount by the necessities which urged the call.
Few men have felt such perfect contempt for show and display
as Mr. CRAWFORD. His dress was always plain, and never at all in
his way. Indeed, he gave himself no care whatever about what he
should wear. At the age of thirty-two, after a seven years' engage-
ment, which had been suspended by his poverty, he married Susannah
Girardin, of Augusta, who still survives, and who resides at Woodlawn.
his country-seat, where he settled in 1804, and where he resided from
that period to the day of his death, except when engaged in the public
service. After marriage, he referred the subject of dress to Mrs. Craw-
ford, who was as plain and unaffected in her taste as himself. Though
his situation in public life often required him, out of respect to the cus-
toms of the country, and to avoid the charge of eccentricity, to keep up
a style and equipage of unwonted splendor, it was manifest that his heart
was not in it ; nor does any one, at all acquainted with the man, believe
for a moment, that his opposition to these things proceeded from penu-
riousness, or any kindred sentiment. He was a man of unquestioned
liberality. He was seldom known to ask the price of any thing, and
never considered any thing dear that added to the pleasure and com-
fort of himself or family. At an early age he imbibed the sentiment,
that dandyism and intellectuality were antagonistic traits of character ;
and he was heard to say, a short time before his death, that amidst an
extensive acquaintance with men of distinction in this country and in
Europe, he had seen but two dandies who were men of genius. Mo-
dest virtue, sound sense, and stern integrity were the surest passports
to his esteem. With these, a poor man was a prince in his affections ;
without them, a prince was the poorest of all beings.
Mr. CRAWFORD'S house has often been styled "Liberty Hall" by
those familiar with the unrestrained mirthfulness, hilarity, and social
glee which marked his fireside ; and the perfect freedom with which
every child, from the eldest to the youngest, expressed his or her
opinion upon the topics suggested by the moment, whether those to-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
pics referred to men or measures. His children were always encou-
raged to act out their respective characters precisely as they were, and
the actions and sentiments of each were always a fair subject ot
commendation, or good-humored ridicule by the rest. They criticised
the opinions and conduct of the father, with the same freedom as those
of each other, and he acknowledged his errors or argued his defence
with the same kind spirit and good temper as distinguished his course
towards them in every other case. The family government was one
of the best specimens of democracy the world has ever seen. There
was nothing like faction in the establishment. According to the
last census, before marriage and emigration commenced, the po-
pulation was ten, consisting of father and mother and eight children,
of whom five are sons and three daughters. Suffrage on all ques-
tions was universal, extending to male and female. Freedom of
speech and equal rights were felt and acknowledged to be the birth-
right of each. Knowledge was a common stock, to which each felt
a peculiar pleasure in contributing according as opportunity enabled
him. When afflictions or misfortunes came, each bore a share in the
common burden. When health and prosperity returned, each became
emulous of heightening the common joy. Chess, drafts, and other
games, involving calculation and judgment, and plays which called for
rapid thought, quick perception, and ready answers, formed sources of
in-door amusements. Those requiring vigor of nerve and agility
of muscle were performed upon the green. In all these sports upon
the green and in the house, Mr. CRAWFORD was, even down to his
last days, the companion of his children ; delighting them often by
taking part himself. Though the disease of which he suffered so
much while at Washington deprived him of his activity, his zeal for
the gratification of his children, and his delight in contributing all
he could to their happiness, knew no abatement. As a husband, he
was kind, affectionate, and devoted. He was never ostentatious in his
attachments to any one, always evincing his regard more by substan-
tial beneficence than by words. No parent was ever better beloved
of his children than he. His home instructions were of incalculable
advantage to them. He never contented himself with merely sending
them to schools of highest and best repute, but made a personal ex-
amination of them almost every day, that he might see and know
for himself how they progressed and how they were taught. He was
in the habit of drawing them around him in a class, and requiring
them to read with him. On these occasions, the Bible was his chief
class-book, and Job and Psalms his favorite portions. The attention
WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD.
and instructions here mentioned were faithfully accorded during- the
whole time of his cabinet service at Washington, except during his
extreme illness. After his return from Georgia, and his partial reco-
very from his disease, he still kept up an intimate acquaintance with
the progress of his younger children, and the manner of their instruc-
tion at school ; though his general debility prevented his being so
indefatigable as he had been. At no time of his life did he ever lose
sight of the importance of storing the minds of his children with vir-
tuous principles. The strict observance of truth, the maintenance of
honor, generosity, and integrity of character, he never ceased to enjoin
upon them as indispensable to respectability and happiness.
It is not within the knowledge of any of his children that he was
ever guilty of profane swearing. He never made a profession of re-
ligion, but was a decided believer in Christianity, a life member of the
American Bible Society, a Vice-President of the American Coloniza-
tion Society, and a regular contributor to the support of the gospel.
Though Mr. CRAWFORD'S strides to political preferment were long
and unusually rapid, as will be seen in the course of this sketch, they
were not free from those difficulties and embarrassments which
have often beset the way of those who have aspired to places of
high honor and distinction. In all ages of the world, men of low
minds and corrupt hearts have so far controlled popular sentiment, as
to infuse into it principles, which, when subjected to the tests of en-
lightened wisdom, sound ethics, and the highest and best dictates of
refined humanity, must, without hesitation, be pronounced erroneous.
The history of man evinces that no order of intelligence on earth
has, at all times hitherto, been sufficiently strong, successfully to op-
pose those practices which have been the legitimate result of such
principles. Thus much must be conceded of those mortal conflicts
which spring from the law of honor, as exhibited in the opinions, and
enforced by the examples, of some of the most illustrious statesmen
and patriots of this country and Europe. That the subject of this
notice was. in the commencement of his career, himself imbued
with this philosophy, (this false philosophy,) and that he gave a prac-
tical illustration of his faith upon two occasions, it were useless to
deny or conceal. It is believed, however, that he ever afterwards
looked upon this part of his history with deep and poignant regret.
The only affair* of this kind, with which he was afterwards connect-
ed, was one not of his own, and in which he consented to act as se-
* Eppes and Randolph.
5
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
cond, only that he might restore peace between the parties. This he
did most effectually, and by his course in the matter secured the
abiding confidence of all concerned.
O
In the spring of 1799, Mr. CRAWFORD removed into Oglethorpe
County ; and without money or patron commenced the practice of law,
in what was then called the Western, now the Northern Circuit of
Georgia. Such were his perseverance, industry, and talents, that lie
soon attracted the notice of that distinguished statesman and sound
jurist, Peter Early, then at the head of his profession in the Up Coun-
try, and to whom he became warm and ardently attached. His great
professional zeal, that always made his client's cause his own, his un-
remitted attention to business, his punctuality and promptness in its
despatch, his undisguised frankness and official sincerity, disdaining the
little artifices and over-reaching craft of the profession, combined with
a dignity which, springing from self-respect alone, was entirely un-
mingled with affectation, his honesty and irreproachable moral charac-
ter, accompanied with manners the most plain, simple, and accessible,
secured for him a public and private reputation seldom equalled, and
never surpassed in any country. His most prominent virtue was a
bold and lofty ingenuousness of mind ; in any intercourse whatever
with him it was his most striking trait, and yet it was far from being
studied. He never engaged, by a smooth and flexible manner, either
in the utterance of his sentiments or the tendency of his address : in
the first he was polite and unassuming, though confident and decided ;
in the latter he was easy without ostentation, and commanding with-
out arrogance. In the court-house, as well as at home, the blind ve-
neration and respectful awe, by no means inconsiderable, which were
usually paid to the graces and proud carriage of person, the fascinat-
ing richness and gaiety of apparel, and the splendor of equipage, he
neither claimed nor desired ; brought up and educated altogether free
from such vain allurements, he never suffered his native strength of
mind and unaffected manly simplicity to yield in the slightest degree
to their influence. After Mr. Early \vent to Congress in 1S02, Mr.
CRAWFORD might fairly be said to stand at the head of the bar in his
circuit.
As a lawyer, he was courteous and liberal. As a speaker, not so
much distinguished for fluency or elegance of style, as clearness of
illustration and cogency of argument. In a conversation with the
writer during his judicial service, he said he did not remember to have
lost a case at the bar in which he had had the concluding speech. As a
pleader, he was exceedingly neat and accurate. His hand-writing
WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD.
was large, plain, elegant, and free. He left nothing to be supplied by
the clerk ; and his opposing counsel might see at the first glance the
complaint or defence of his client set forth with a convincing clear-
ness that created a feeling in advance that it must be just. His
speeches were always short, rarely exceeding half an hour in any case.
He had the faculty of seizing at once upon all the strong points of a
case, and presenting each in its natural order with a simplicity, brevi-
ty, perspicuity and force, which told with unfailing effect upon the
minds of the court and jury. He was always armed with such discrimi-
nation as enabled him to detect the least flaw in the argument of his
adversary, and no fallacy was allowed to pass unexposed. No inci-
dent connected with the testimony, which could be wielded to the ad-
vantage of his client or against his opponent, ever escaped the tena-
city of his memory. His social intercourse with the members of the
profession, whom he considered worthy of his respect, was unre-
strained ; and many and loud were the roars of laughter that suc-
ceeded his well-told anecdotes. His presence was an effectual anti-
dote to dtilness ; his mirth was irresistible. Stupid, indeed, was the
man who could not yield some sparks of intellect when brought into
social intercourse with him. Although he left society largely in
arrears to him on the score of contribution to social enjoyment, no
man was easier pleased, none felt a livelier sympathy in the interests
and feelings of others.
Oglethorpe called him four years to represent her in the Legisla-
ture, and during that period she found in him a faithful respresenta-
tive. Many laws, now of force in the State, bear the impress of his
wisdom as a legislator. It was as a member of the Legislature of
Georgia that he laid the foundation for that extensive and permanent
popularity as a politician which he ever afterwards enjoyed. In 1807
he was elected to the Senate of the United States, to supply the va-
cancy occasioned by the death of the great, and good, and highly-
gifted Abraham Baldwin ; and re-elected in 1811 without opposition.
On entering the Senate of the United States, Mr. CRAWFORD came
in immediate collision with that veteran debater, the Honorable William
B. Giles of Virginia. The very creditable manner in which he sustain-
ed himself in that contest, won for him, in the outset, a high reputa-
tion for talents, which he retained as long as he continued to be a
member of that body. Most of those who were numbered in the re-
publican ranks in 1810 and later, even up to 1812, were somewhat
distrustful of the navy as a means of national defence, and opposed
its considerable enlargement. A very current sentiment of those
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
days was, that the navy was but too well calculated to embroil us with
other nations. It will be remembered that the reduction of the navy
was a prominent feature in Mr. Jefferson's administration. It must be
confessed that Mr. CRAWFORD participated in this opinion to a consi-
derable extent. But, in common with most of his political friends and
associates, its brilliant achievements during the last war, won him over
to a more favorable opinion of that department of the public service.
In fact, he became a strong advocate of the navy. After the peace,
in 1815, one of the first measures adopted, was an act of Congress
for the increase of the navy, and an annual appropriation of $1,000,000
to that object. In this measure nine tenths of both houses concurred,
and the wisdom and propriety of it received Mr. CRAWFORD'S hearty
acquiescence. Shortly after, in one of his reports, he styles the navy
"an essential means of national defence." In all questions of appro-
priation he was the uncompromising advocate of the rule, that the
objects and places of expenditure should be distinct and specific, so
as to leave as little as possible to executive discretion. He was a
warm and decided advocate for an early resort to arms, to redress the
injuries and indignities heaped upon this country by Great Britain,
and which laid the foundation for the last war. This is manifest
from his votes in the Senate upon every question leading to a decla-
ration of war throughout the years 1811 and 1812.
He voted for the bill authorizing fifty thousand volunteers to be re-
ceived by the President — for increasing the army twenty-five thousand
—for an act concerning the navy, fitting out certain frigates : and was
friendly to the passage of an act for increasing the navy, passed 2d
January 1813, by which the building of four seventy-fours and six
forty-four gun frigates was authorized. His vote is to be found re-
corded for the passage of the law by which war was declared, and
uniformly against every proposition for its modification. He was then
President, pro tempore, of the Senate ; and had been elevated to that
distinguished station during the session of Congress in which the war
was declared, and at a time when no man of equivocal political
opinions, or doubtful sentiments, on the question of peace or war,
would have been, by a decidedly republican Senate, placed in that dig-
nified office. This will readily account for Mr. CRAWFORD'S not
having made a speech in favor of a declaration of war ; he was the
presiding officer of the Senate, and had been so more than four
months ; and by the peculiar rule of that body could not, without leav-
ing the station to which he had been called, participate in debate.
The embargo, and the bank, formed two other questions of grave
s
WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD.
import and high national excitement during his senatorial career.
His course upon both was prompt, fearless, and independent. The
former he opposed in the teeth of a popular and powerful administra-
tion ; to the latter he gave a vigorous support, though unqualified
opposition to it upon constitutional grounds was at that day, as it still
is, one of the tests of republican discipleship. It is known, however,
to his intimate friends, that the careful perusal of the secret debates of
the convention which framed the constitution, and the debates upon
the adoption of that instrument by the States, produced a change in
his opinion upon the constitutionality of the bank.
In 1813, after declining the office of Secretary of War, tendered
him by President Madison, he was sent minister to the Court of St.
Cloud.
The Argus, in which he sailed, under the command of Captain Allen,
entered the port of L'Orient the llth of July, 1813, being twenty-one
days from New- York.
What he did during his two years' residence at Paris, is already a
matter of recorded history. It is enough to say, in this place, that his
official notes evinced the clearest understanding of the questions pend-
ing between the two governments, and in them the rights of this
country are set forth in the strongest and most imposing light, and
pressed upon the empire, and afterwards upon the crown, with a force
of logic, a confident boldness, and ceaseless vigilance, worthy of such a
cause. During his stay at Paris he was the confidential friend and
correspondent of our eminently distinguished negotiators for peace at
Ghent.
Among the most pleasing incidents connected with his residence in
Paris, was the acquaintance he formed with the hero of two hemi-
spheres, the illustrious La Fayette. It would seem from the letters
of this great and good man, which Mr. CRAWFROD has preserved with
more than his usual care, that their acquaintance ripened into the
strongest personal friendship ; and that their intercourse was of the
most confidential character. In these letters the politics of France are
discussed with an unsuspecting freedom on the part of the General,
and often with an unsparing severity, rarely surpassed in the inter-
change of opinions between sworn friends in the freest government on
earth. To Mr. CRAWFORD'S auspices he principally confided the di-
rection and management of his patents to the land granted him by
Congress, in Louisiana, as a small return for his unparalleled sacri-
fices in the cause of freedom, his timely and efficient aid, and his bril-
liant achievements in our revolutionary struggle. This correspond-
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
ence was sustained on both sides with imdiminished confidence and
cordiality so long as the General lived.
On his return from France in 1815, he found that he had been ap-
pointed Secretary of War. in which department he served but a few
months. In October following he was made Secretary of the Treasu-
ry by Mr. Madison, and was that winter strongly solicited to allow his
name to be put in nomination for the Presidency. But he promptly
declined, saying that he was young enough to wait, and advised his
friends to nominate and support Mr. Monroe. A caucus was held, in
which Mr. Monroe received but a small majority of votes as the nomi-
nee over Mr. CRAWFORD, though he had so positively declined to al-
low his name to be run. A number of his strongest and most in-
timate friends refused to attend the caucus, resolving, as he would not
allow them to vote for him, they would vote for no one else. It has
often been confidently asserted by a great number of experienced politi-
cians of that day, that if he had permitted his name to be put in nomina-
tion at that time, he might, have been elected with perfect ease. This, of
course, was a calculation founded on the signs of the times, a conclusion
which may have been brought about as much by the propulsive power
of strong political attachments, as by calm and dispassionate reasoning
upon the course of events and the aspect of affairs. They knew that
Mr. CRAWFORD could have been nominated without difficulty. The
event showed the influence of such a nomination, as it resulted in the
election of Mr. Monroe.
In 1817 Mr. CRAWFORD was re-appointed to the office of Se-
cretary of the Treasury by Mr. Monroe, and continued in that office
till 1825, when he declined its acceptance under Mr. Adams's admi-
nistration. Much of the period during which Mr. CRAWFORD acted
as Secretary of the Treasury, times were very doubtful — our domestic
relations embarrassed — pecuniary difficulties pressing upon the peo-
ple— home and foreign commerce fluctuating — commercial capital
deranged— a public debt to be managed, and, above all, a miserably de-
preciated and ruined currency had to be dealt with. The political es-
sayists of those days agreed that it required ceaseless vigilance and
profound ability to preserve the national estate from bankruptcy. But
the public credit was never better at any period of the republic than
during his administration of the affairs of the Treasury. The national
debt was faithfully discharged, and the burdens of government upon
the people were for the most part light and inconsiderable. At the
time of greatest difficulty the estimated and actual receipts of the
Treasury only varied ten per cent., while the estimates of his distin-
10
WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD.
guished predecessors had varied from seventeen to twenty-one per
cent. But perhaps the best evidence of his fidelity, zeal, and ability as
cabinet officer in this department, was the length of time he served,
the unbounded confidence reposed in him by Mr. Madison and Mr.
Monroe during the whole period of his service ; the great interest
manifested for his retention in that office by Mr. Gallatin ; and Mr. J.
Q,. Adams's opinion of his merit, as evinced in his tendering him that
office during his administration. Such men are rarely deceived in
their estimate of character and qualifications.
Many believe that Mr. CRAWFORD would have been chosen Presi-
dent in 1825, instead of Mr. Adams, if at the time of his election his
health had not been so bad as to induce the belief that he could not
survive his disease. He received an honorable vote from the electoral
colleges. Whether his defeat were the result of illness or other cause,
those who know his family, know that the prospect of retreating into
private life, and of enjoying without interruption the society of the fa-
ther, was hailed as a joyous era in the family history. If it were assert-
ed that Mr. CRAWFORD himself experienced a secret gratification at the
result, so far as he was concerned, and so far as his happiness was in-
volved, few would credit the declaration. And yet none would doubt
its truth who knew the facts. All believed that the atmosphere of
Washington nourished the disease which was wasting his remainino-
O O o
strength and threatening his life ; and under such circumstances, the
honors of the presidency were as the small dust of the balance com-
pared with the prospect of his restoration of health.
In 1827, after the death of Judge Dooly, Mr. CRAWFORD was ap-
pointed by Governor Troup, without solicitation, Judge of the North-
ern Circuit of Georgia. In 1828 the Legislature elected him to the
same office without opposition. Three years after he was a candidate
for re-election ; and though he had an opponent whose plans for his de-
feat were well concocted, he obtained his election on the first balloting-.
O
One effect of Mr. CRAWFORD'S long and distressing illness, to which
allusion has been so often made, was, that it entailed upon him consider-
ably more excitability of temper than he had ever before manifested. He
used occasionally to exhibit this new trait of character, which was the
offspring of disease, while upon the bench. His greatest annoyance was,
what he called a " silly speech ;" and though such speeches were of rare
occurrence at the bar in his circuit, yet they did sometimes come out,
and when they did, the Judge's patience was sure to suffer. Neverthe-
less he was considered able, upright, and impartial. His distinguishing
trait, as a Judge, was, that he would not be tied down to the strict
n
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
technicalities of law when they would work a manifest injustice to
cither of the parties litigant. In such a case he would say, " Summuni
jus is sometimes summa injuria. and I must so construe the rule as
to do the parties substantial justice." Those of his decisions which
were made with deliberation, are considered as high authority as those
of any Judge the State has ever had. The case of the State vs. Tassels
may be mentioned as one of the most important which came before
him while upon the bench. It did not originate in his circuit ; but hav-
ing been referred to all the Judges, he was appointed by the rest to
write out the opinion. If any should still believe the slander that his
mind was made imbecile by his illness at Washington, let him read its
refutation in that decision.
He was in the active discharge of the duties of Judge of the North-
>— ' O
era Circuit when he died. He set out on his way to Court on Satur-
day, and was taken sick that night at the house of a friend, and died
at 2 o'clock the succeeding Monday morning, being the loth Septem-
ber, 1834. His physicians were of the opinion that his disease was an
affection of the heart. He died apparently without pain or fever. He
sleeps at Woodlawn, under a plain mound of earth, without tomb-
stone or inscription ; and no one near him but a little grandson of two
years old, who had preceded him by about fifteen months.
12
PU3LICUB8ARY
aiio
LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOUKNEY.
MRS. SIGOURNEY was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Her father,
Mr. Ezekiel Huntley, was the owner of a small property, which he
cultivated in that happy spirit of contentment with his lot, which in
ancient times would have entitled him to the appellation of a philoso-
pher. In truth he was something better — a Christian, humble in his
wishes, and devoted to his duties. The mother of Mrs. SIGOURNEY
was a woman of strong- powers of mind, and possessed of a warm and
vivid fancy ; but the secluded situation in which she lived, and the
few opportunities for intellectual improvement which she had enjoyed,
made her very diffident of her own abilities. However, superior talents
will in some way be manifested. Mrs. Huntley evinced hers by the
sedulous attention and care which she bestowed on her daughter.
Lydia was the only child of her parents ; it is not strange, therefore,
that she should have been nurtured with exceeding care and tender-
ness ; but the superiority of her mother was shown in inculcating early
and constantly, habits of order and diligence in the pursuits of the young
mind she was forming ; and which habits the distinguished poetess
has since found of inestimable advantage.
We think the worldly condition in which the early life of Mrs. SI-
GOURNEY was passed, exceedingly favorable to the development of
her peculiar faculties. Placed in that safe mediocrity of fortune which
the wisest of men invoked as a choice blessing, a state which re-
quires industry yet admits of hope, she was naturally inclined to pre-
pare for the future, rather than to seek enjoyment in the present.
Even the lonelinesss of her brotherless and sisterless lot probably in-
duced the substitution of intellectual pursuits for the common sports
of childhood. These influences, though they chastened and elevat-
ed her mind, may have somewhat saddened her fancy ; and hence
the musings of her genius almost always appear in the pensive or mo-
ralizing form.
We feel, while reading her sweet effusions, as though the beauty of
NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
holiness could not rest so purely on the bright living brow, crowned
with flowers, as on the pale cheek of the dead. This predominance
of the grave and solemn, as regards the influence of her poetry on the
world of active life, is undoubtedly a defect ; yet these sad and serious
strains are most congenial and comforting to those hearts which mis-
fortune has touched and softened. And such will deeply appreciate
the genius of the poetess, for truly sings a sister spirit—
"Oh ! prophet heart ! thy grief, thy power,
To all deep souls belong ;
The shadow in the sunny hour,
The wail in mirthful song:
Their sight is all too sadly clear —
For them a veil is riven :
Their piercing thoughts repose not here,
Their home is but in heaven."
We are by no means in favor of establishing precocity of intellect
as the standard of real genius, yet it is certain that many distinguish-
ed persons have been marked in childhood as extraordinary ; the blos-
som has given forth the sweet odor which the rich fruit, like that of
the Mangostan, embodies in its delicious perfection.
Mrs. SIGOURNEY showed in
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